Free trade agreements have created huge opportunities for small and medium-sized industries and fishermen: Modi

New Delhi, August 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day address on the weekend that in the last decade, India is making free trade agreements (FTAs) with almost 40 countries, which has brought a huge opportunity for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to expand into the global market and they should take advantage of it.

He emphasized the need to increase the quality of products and reduce costs. In his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Mr. Modi said, "...today India's profile is changing completely. Today, India is becoming a popular and respected country for the world. India has a strong political mandate, a stable government, an active democracy, a strong judicial system, and a Constitution that guides us all, and now the world is recognizing our capabilities."

He said, "And that's why, after 2014, we are having FTAs with almost 40 countries of the world....This is a huge opportunity and that's why I want to tell my micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that we should not let this opportunity slip away. We have to reach out to the world, all of India's products should reach the global market, whether it's our textiles, machinery, pharmaceuticals, we should not miss this opportunity, but we have to cross the parameters (standards) that are at the global level. We have to give better than what we get from the world. We have to give cheaper than what we get from the world."

Notably, these trade agreements include the largest agreement so far with the 27-member European Union (EU), which is being negotiated to be implemented.

He said, "And from Punjab's Ludhiana to Tamil Nadu's Tirupur, our textile sector can reach out to the world....From Kerala to Gujarat and from Tamil Nadu to Bengal's coastal areas, the export possibilities of shrimp have increased a lot for our fisherman brothers and sisters due to these FTAs. The possibilities of our seafood reaching out to the world have increased."

The Prime Minister also mentioned the benefits of self-reliance achieved by his government in various sectors over the last 12 years. He mentioned India's successes in dealing with the Covid pandemic and various geopolitical crises, saying, "If we had not moved in the right direction with the mantra of self-reliance for 10 years, we can imagine how we would have dealt with such challenges strongly." He said, "Our preparations are continuously increasing."

Mr. Modi said, "There was a time when I was talking about self-reliance, and some people sitting in air-conditioned chambers were telling us what would happen to globalization. But the world is seeing that in the last decade, it seems that the world has stopped talking about globalization. The voices that used to come from where globalization was talked about have stopped, are not heard."

He said, "Every country in the world has moved towards its own problems, but unfortunately, in this crisis, some people have played the game of weaponizing resources to show their power. The world is engaged in weaponizing whatever it has. The weaponization of resources, petrol, diesel, fertilizers, medicines, technology chips, and not just that, even geographical areas are being weaponized."