India’s trust-based diplomacy is reflected in its ever-expanding free trade agreements (FTAs), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. “We are currently negotiating FTAs with the EU, the US, Oman, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, and many more wanting us to start negotiations. The world trusts India because we offer predictability through regulatory reforms, transparency through digital governance and reliability in honouring commitments,” Goyal said at the 30th CII Partnership Summit 2025 here.
Further, the minister said that in order to expand global cooperation, countries must strive to lower trade barriers and create an open, transparent environment that enables free flow of goods, services, and capital.
He said that in the new geo-economic order, “trust” is the most valuable currency, and India has emerged as the world’s trusted partner. “This is an inflexion point in global history. The world order that defined the past several decades is being rewritten. In this churning and tremendously-volatile and uncertain times, India stands as an oasis in the desert,” Goyal said.
The minister recalled that India’s exports crossed $825 billion last year despite global headwinds. “FDI flows stood at a record $81 billion…It also reflects our focus on building capabilities at home through the ‘Make in India’ programme, infrastructure at scale, diversifying markets across multiple countries, and moving up the value chain through investments in technology,” he said.
In order to facilitate the ease of doing business, Goyal said that the over 42,000 compliances and 1,500 obsolete laws were abolished in the last few years. “Our next generation GST reforms will further ensure ease of doing business and rapidly expand consumer spend,” he said.
According to the minister, the journey from a $4-trillion economy to a $30-$35 trillion economy by 2047 is guided by three pillars. “The first is prosperity through technology. India’s technology story is one of democratisation and trade,” he said, adding that UPI has become the leading payment system globally, processing nearly half of all real-time payments.
“UPI is now being adopted by multiple countries. We are building complete semiconductor ecosystems with a $30 billion investment and growing. Our India AI Mission is democratising artificial intelligence for all Indians. We also have the second-largest user base of ChatGPT across the globe. Our young engineering talent, digital infrastructure, and vibrant start-up ecosystem provide the perfect launchpad for growing and scalable solutions,” Goyal said.
“We must also strengthen technology cooperation by co-developing frontier technologies and investing in high-impact innovation. Let us also build and sustain trust through transparent governance and predictable policy frameworks that promote long-term partnerships. Through our international partners, India offers not just a market, but partnership for shared prosperity and mutual growth,” he said.
India recently signed an FTA with the UK and operationalised the FTA with the EFTA bloc consisting of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, which has also committed $100 billion foreign direct investment.