Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (6 October) said that the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" is not about closing India's doors to engagements with the world.

Addressing the inaugural session of the ICRIER's 13th Annual International G-20 Conference, Goyal said the clarion call for becoming AatmaNirbhar given by Prime Minister Modi has truly transformed the way, the mindset of every Indian.

“An AatmaNirbhar Bharat is not about closing India’s doors to engagements with the world; it’s actually opening the doors wider, because where we are competitive we want leadership position in world trade, where we think we need to import we want liberal market access within India and reciprocated by other countries for all products so that we can expand trade on both sides and truly become an important stakeholder in global supply chains, a trusted partner and help in the economic recovery, the social recovery and the health recovery of the world in the post-pandemic era,” he said.

Goyal also said that the Covid-19 pandemic has remodelled several G20 priorities.

“Today the entire world understands that in this Interconnected and Interdependent world, no one is safe until everyone is safe. And towards that end a greater degree of global economic coordination is the need of the hour, we are all equally responsible to make that happen," Goyal said.

"It’s imperative to tackle this pandemic on the one hand, to ensure vaccination for everybody - rich or poor, all countries, all citizens of the world and also serious research on finding a cure for Covid-19,” he added.

The minister also called for pursuing a more inclusive and equitable agenda at the G20.

"For the next few years, Developing Countries like ours will be leading the organization, Indonesia next year, followed by India. It is a unique opportunity for all of us to inject a more inclusive and equitable agenda at the G20. By acting in tandem in this “Decade of Action”, G20 will play a pivotal role to achieve all SDGs," he said.

"We have to strengthen global institutions which are more representative and inclusive e.g. WTO, UNFCCC etc. We have to build synergies with like-minded partners to bring out a strong statement on Climate Action,” the minister added.