India believes in multilateralism but is not waiting for it: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India believes in multilateralism but is not waiting around for it, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, adding that New Delhi is very keen on building its trade ties with bilateral agreements also.

Speaking with foreign policy expert Michael Kugelman at the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center's on-the-ground coverage of the 2026 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Sitharaman said, “We believe in multilateralism. Let me begin with that. We want multilateralism to be strengthened. However, given today's environment, we are very keen that we build our strength in trade through bilateral agreements as well.”

She explained that the European Union trade agreement is a large one as it consists of 28 countries, but India is also doing bilateral trade with “very many countries”. She gave examples of New Zealand, Australia, on-going negotiations with Canada, EFTA countries.

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“So the approach is that we have to rapidly connect with many parts of the world with whom negotiations have been going on for a very long time. But the political will on both sides is the one on which I'll harp for a minute,” adding that countries that have spent a long time negotiating with India, and India itself, have realised that the sooner they tie the bilateral relationship, the sooner the agreements will benefit the people. These ties, she said, will “bring in that lubrication which is required at a time when the world is in a very difficult position”.

“Trade negotiations which have been going on for several years today are actually being ramped up and concluded quickly. It is not to say that the negotiations have been easy but I feel this approach of ‘yes we want multilateralism but yet we are not waiting for it, we are going ahead with bilateral’ has really rewarded India and I'm sure it has rewarded those countries as well,” she said.

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FM Sitharaman said that India’s approach is that it should tie up with as many economic jurisdictions as possible.