Piyush Goyal to lead team India at WEF in Davos

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will lead the delegation of ministers, chief ministers and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos from May 23-25, an official statement said on Friday.

''This event would further help reinforce India's position as an important and relevant stakeholder in shaping the global narrative, particularly as India assumes the presidency of the G-20 in 2023,'' the commerce and industry ministry said.

The WEF (World Economic Forum) will also be a platform to project India as an attractive investment destination in view of its robust economic growth and stable macroeconomic indicators, it added.

The Indian government delegation would include health minister Mansukhlal Mandaviya, petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and chief ministers and senior ministers of six states — Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana along with senior officials.

A number of senior industry leaders, including Hari S Bhartiya, Amit Kalyani, Rajan Bharti Mittal, Ronnie Screwvala and Salil S Parekh, would also be participating in the WEF deliberations, it said.

It also said that to mark 75 years of the country's independence and 'Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the ministry has taken the initiative to have a consolidated marquee India presence at WEF.

Alongside the India lounge, a state lounge has also been set up.

In line with the government of India's priorities, sessions are being organised at the India lounge keeping in mind India's strategic advantage, existing and upcoming incentive architecture, industry investment potential and market opportunity.

The key topics that would be addressed during the sessions include policy and ease of doing business reforms, energy transition, digital economy, opportunities in National Monetization Pipeline, startups, growing talents in the digital space, emphasis on innovation and research in the healthcare ecosystem.

Ahead of the visit, Goyal held a pre-departure briefing session with the India delegation on Thursday.

The commerce minister will also be visiting the UK on May 26-27, 2022 to hold discussions with the UK government and businesses on the progress made in negotiations of the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the way forward.

During the summit meeting between the prime ministers of India and the UK, the two leaders had set the timeline of Diwali 2022 for finalisation of the FTA between the two countries.