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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has called upon fellow Ministers of neighbouring countries to work together to transform the subcontinent and said India is becoming the global hub for innovation with the third-largest startup ecosystem. Further, he called for enhancing India's economic ties with the nations of the Southern African Customs Union which consists of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.

He said India is looking for Free trade Agreements (FTAs) with like-minded nations with transparency and mutual benefit and growth as key pillars. He mentioned that India is also reviewing existing Free trade Agreements (FTA) with ASEAN, Japan, Korea to strengthen them and forging enhanced trade alliances with countries like UAE, EU, UK, Israel, Australia, Canada, Russia, Oman and the GCC.

Besides, he said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India has emerged as a source of resilience and a trusted Partner and added that India had tried to the best of its ability to meet all its international service commitments. He also assured that India would continue helping nations in need as India intrinsically believed in brotherhood, partnership and the need to work together to solve problems collectively. He added that India had focussed on its neighbourhood during the pandemic and stood ready to support all its friends with vaccines and medical supplies.