India will host the next special negotiation round of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) from February 8-11 next year. the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo. The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade.
The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy.
India is part of three pillars only—supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy.
In a meeting in September in Los Angeles, it agreed to not join the trade pillar.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal along with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and other IPEF partner countries on Tuesday participated in a virtual ministerial meeting on economic benefits of IPEF.
"Minister Goyal extended an invitation to all partner countries for the next special negotiation round for pillars 2-4 of IPEF to be hosted by India on 8-11 February, 2023," the statement said.
He urged members to focus energy on early harvest of deliverables which can benefit all the members.
Goyal said that India can contribute towards supply chain resilience in sectors like pharmaceuticals and invited support from members in semiconductors, critical minerals and clean technologies, including on innovative projects, which can be promoted beyond IPEF in other developing countries.
"Secretary Raimondo welcomed India's offer to host the special negotiation round for Pillars 2-4 of IPEF and assured that the US IPEF team would work closely with India in this regard," it added.
