New Delhi, 16 October (H.S.): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday expressed hope that the India-US trade agreement would be concluded as soon as possible in the interest of global trade and stronger bilateral economic ties between the two countries.

According to a post shared by the Ministry of Finance on the social media platform X, Nirmala Sitharaman made the remarks during an interactive session with Michael Kugelman, a resident senior fellow for South Asia, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Negotiations between the two countries are still underway. I hope this trade agreement will be concluded as soon as possible in the interest of global trade and trade between the two partners, India and the United States,” Nirmala Sitharaman said.

She also highlighted India's longstanding trade concerns with China, stating that despite years of negotiations with Beijing, the widening trade imbalance and persistent restrictions on market access for Indian products in China remained major challenges.

The Finance Minister said India had managed to sustain its economic growth despite numerous challenges.

Speaking about India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth, Sitharaman said the country had been among the fastest-growing economies in the four to five years following the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that this performance reflected the sustained efforts undertaken by the government, with inclusiveness being one of the key factors behind the country's economic progress.

Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the importance of ensuring that people had access to resources and that young people received opportunities for skill development, while maintaining fiscal discipline throughout the process.

She said the government remained conscious of its responsibility to safeguard public money and could not resort to indiscriminate spending, even while addressing the needs of economically vulnerable sections of society.

It may be noted that Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the first phase of the India-US trade agreement had been finalised and that its legal drafting was currently underway.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar