India Negotiating Trade Pacts With Countries Accounting For 15 Trillion Dollars GDP: Piyush Goyal
Goyal also said that there are huge opportunities in the space sector as India has opened it for private sector participation
New Delhi/Tokyo: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that India is in negotiations with at least 8-9 more groups of countries and individual nations that together account for another $15 trillion of GDP. “The country's free trade agreements would eventually cover about 75 per cent of global trade and help position India as a trusted partner in global value chains,” Goyal said.
The minister further said that India has a large domestic market and it has opened its doors to the world with nine free trade agreements (FTAs) signed in the last four years, he said addressing business representatives from India and Japan. “These nine agreements cover economies with a combined GDP of $60 trillion and 38 developed countries,” he said.
The earlier trade pacts with countries, including Japan and Korea , and the ASEAN region have opened another $10 trillion of GDP. “So today India opens up the doors to preferential market access to $70 trillion of economy. We are in negotiations with at least 8 or 9 other groups of countries or countries, which will add another $15 trillion,” Goyal said, adding that 75 percent of global trade will be covered through our FTAs, opening India to become a part of the global value chain as a trusted partner.
It is noted that India has already finalised trade pacts with EU, EFTA bloc, UAE, Mauritius, Australia, Oman, New Zealand, US and the UK. It is also negotiating such pacts with countries such as Israel and Canada. It has signed terms of references to negotiate trade agreements with South Africa-led SACU, and six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
The two-way commerce between the countries grew 9.18 per cent to $27.47 billion (exports worth $6.03 billion and imports of $21.43 billion) in 2025-26 from $25.16 billion in 2024-25. The trade deficit between the two countries rose to $15.4 billion in the last fiscal year from $12.66 billion in 2024-25. It was $12.53 billion in 2023-24 and $11 billion in 2022-23.
Goyal also said that there are huge opportunities in the space sector as India has opened it for private sector participation. “India is also a compelling case to set up data centres," he said, adding there are 1,580 Japanese firms operating in India. I am told that Suzuki India's market cap is higher than that of its parent company. We would like to see 1,580 Suzukis developed out of India,” he said.
Talking about the potential in research and development segment, he also said that the cost of doing innovation in India is very low compared to developed economies. The minister invited Japanese firms to set up units in the 20 industrial smart cities being developed in India.
The minister further said that India’s growing semiconductor and electronics ecosystem offers strong potential for Japanese companies to deepen their footprint and participate in India's growth story. He met Juro Baba, Representative Director, Mitsubishi Corporation. “We discussed opportunities to build on Mitsubishi Corporation's long-standing presence in India, spanning over nine decades, and to expand collaboration across mobility, energy, and infrastructure,” he added.
In his meeting with Toshiaki Nagasato, President and Representative Director of Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd, Goyal said he discussed opportunities to strengthen India-Japan cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector and avenues to expand the company's manufacturing and R&D footprint in India. “India's pharmaceutical ecosystem offers significant opportunities for Japanese partners to scale and achieve long-term growth,” he added.
