Trade deal talks with Qatar from next week

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will visit Doha next week to kick off talks for a bilateral trade agreement, adding another Gulf nation to the bouquet of countries negotiating trade treaties with India. UAE already has a pact with India.Sources said the minister will travel to Singapore as well, an ASEAN member with which India has a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) but is not satisfied with the outcomes. He will also meet European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the sidelines of the G20 meet in South Africa in Nov. India and EU are trying to conclude an FTA by the year-end. The talks come amid turbulence in the US-India trade relations with 50% tariff on Indian goods entering American markets from Aug 27.At a CII event, Goyal described India as the fastest-growing large economy in a world “full of uncertainty, turbulence and volatility.” He said that India is focusing on self-reliance by strengthening capabilities and making supply chains more resilient to counter the “weaponisation of trade.”