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In a significant milestone, the 14 partner countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) have established three councils to strengthen economic cooperation in the region and India has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Supply Chain Council, the Commerce and Industry Ministry announced on Wednesday. 

The step has been taken under the landmark Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement relating to Supply Chain Resilience as the world looks for an alternative to China for the production of goods.

The inaugural virtual meetings of the Supply Chain Council (SCC), Crisis Response Network (CRN), and Labor Rights Advisory Board (LRAB) marked a major step forward for cooperation among partner countries for strengthening supply chain resilience in the region, the Commerce Ministry said.

Through these inaugural meetings, 14 IPEF partners reaffirmed their commitments and collective resolve to facilitate closer cooperation to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of critical supply chains and better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions that pose a risk to economic prosperity while strengthening labour rights, according to the official statement.

India is expected to play a crucial role in developing a resilient Supply Chain in the Indo-Pacific region. Earlier in June 2024, Secretary, the Department of Commerce, Sunil Barthwal, at the IPEF Ministerial meeting held in Singapore, highlighted that India, with its skilled manpower, natural resources, and policy support, aims to become a major player in the global supply chain. Government initiatives are proactive in finding solutions and ensuring India’s participation in diverse and predictable supply chains.

Pursuant to the Supply Chain Agreement, the IPEF partners established three supply chain bodies -- a Supply Chain Council to pursue targeted, action-oriented work to strengthen the supply chains for those sectors and goods most critical to national security, public health, and economic well-being; a Crisis Response Network to provide a forum for a collective emergency response to exigent or imminent disruptions; and a Labor Rights Advisory Board that brings together workers, employers, and governments at the same table to strengthen labour rights and workforce development across regional supply chains, the statement explained.

India shared its views on the importance of a resilient supply chain network and the ongoing consultations with stakeholders on sectors that are critical to it from the perspective of national security, public health and economic well-being. India also emphasised on the need for collaboration in skill development sector. It was stressed that identifying gaps and ensuring the right skills across our economies will be a priority, including technical assistance for workforce development and digitalisation for a resilient supply chain ecosystem.

During the meetings, each of the three supply chain bodies elected a Chair and Vice Chair, who will serve for a term of two years. The elected chairs and vice chairs are -- Supply Chain Council: USA (Chair) and India (Vice Chair); Crisis Response Network: Republic of Korea (Chair) and Japan (Vice Chair); Labor Rights Advisory Board: USA (Chair) and Fiji (Vice Chair).

The Supply Chain Council adopted Terms of Reference and discussed initial work priorities, to be further explored at its first in-person meeting to be held in Washington, D.C. in September 2024 on the margins of the Supply Chain Summit. The Crisis Response Network discussed near and longer-term priorities, including conducting a tabletop exercise, and planned its first in-person meeting to be held alongside the Supply Chain Summit. The Labor Rights Advisory Board discussed priorities for strengthening labour rights across IPEF supply chains. The convening not only will advance the work of the Labor Rights Advisory Board but also focus on the labour provisions in the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement and Fair Economy Agreement, the statement added.

The IPEF partners also underscored the significance of the upcoming in-person meeting to be held in Washington, D.C. in September 2024.

IPEF was launched on May 23, 2022, at Tokyo with 14 partner countries -- Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and USA. The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement and cooperation among its member countries with the goal of advancing growth, economic stability and prosperity in the region.