WTO meet 2022: ‘Major victory for India’, says Piyush Goyal on fisheries subsidies agreement 

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the fisheries subsidies agreement announced at the recently concluded World Trade Organisation (WTO) meet was a major win for India.  

Goyal told news agency ANI, “Some countries are experts in this. They are responsible finishing the fish across the world, with deep-sea fishing. India succeeded in bringing a regulation for them. This is a major victory for India.” 

He also took a jab at developed countries and said that we succeeded in bringing in regulation for those “who indulge in illegal fishing or catch fish but don’t report it.” He added that this regulation also covered those who worked outside regulation and indulged in illegal, unregulated, for, and unreported fishing.  

The Union Minister further stated that India’s stint at the WTO was a successful one as “there is not one issue for which we need to return to India with any kind of worry.” 

He added, “I think that with all our collective efforts, in this WTO MC12 establishment of multilateral institutions has once again been strengthened. Positive outcomes have come out. Progress has been made in long pending issues, issues that were pending for decades.” 

The four-day talks which began on June 12 ended early Friday morning with agreement on all issues including fisheries subsidies. A source told news agency PTI, “In, India’s instance sovereign sights on EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones) have been firmly established. It is really a big achievement.” 

He added stakeholders who have benefitted from these decisions in areas like food security, multilateralism and trade, and business are fishermen, farmers, the digital economy, and MSMEs.  

(With agency inputs)