The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has stated that India's pharmaceutical industry is capable of meeting global demands. She was speaking at the CII Partnership Summit 2021, which was co-organized by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the CII (DPIIT).

 

While the global growth rate is predicted to be 9.5 percent this year, the DG also stated that a severe disparity in fiscal capacity for vaccine manufacturing and distribution has hurt low-income economies. For rich economies, the trend in trade recovery is good, but low-income or underdeveloped countries face significant hurdles.

 

As a result, harnessing global relationships in the form of government-to-government and business-to-business collaborations is critical to mitigating the impact of the global pandemic. The DG further said that there is a need to enable worldwide access to vaccines while decentralising manufacturing procedures.

 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and other multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are continually campaigning for the free movement of medicine across borders. The necessity to overcome issues in mode two (movement of experts across borders) was emphasised in relation to service trade. "I am pressing members to reach an agreement by the end of February at the latest," Dr Okonjo-Iweala said, "and I am delighted to announce that members have restarted negotiations on the TRIPS waiver as well as other areas." In addition, the Director General emphasised the need of clean and green trade.

 

"India is a global pharmaceutical powerhouse," the DG stated, "and the amazing response of its pharmaceutical sector to the epidemic shows to the sector's potential to meet demand not only at home but also around the world."

 

"As a founding member of the World Trade Organization, India believes that bilateral agreements can never replace multilateralism," stated Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

 

Goyal also stated that there is a clear need to focus on the services sector, as it has a lot of promise and the world rules would alter in areas like digital trade as a result. India may also help low-income economies and developing countries by transferring technology, building capacity, and developing skills in the services industry, with a particular focus on Africa.

 

T V Narendran, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), added to this by emphasising the importance of trade in helping economies recover from the effects of COVID 19.

 

"To ensure that trade growth is inclusive, states must work together to establish an atmosphere that will not only return to a robust trading route, but also sustain it," he added. "An open trade system can play a significant role in this regard and eliminate poverty around the world."