Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Government will use “every policy tool and the export promotion mission” to support exporters in the ongoing crisis in West Asia, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. “We are in complete engagement with exporters. Every day, the inter-ministerial group talks to exporters and takes feedback. We will not be found wanting in supporting our exporters in any way,” Goyal said.Goyal told reporters on the sidelines of an event by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) that govt set up a help desk and an inter-ministerial group that engages with exporters daily to review the situation and gather feedback.Exporters faced disruptions such as higher freight rates, demurrage charges, longer shipping routes and shortages of containers following the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, and sought govt support to deal with rising logistics costs.Goyal said the commerce ministry is in dialogue with the ministry of shipping and shipping companies to address concerns about cargo ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. “We are in dialogue with the ministry of shipping and with shipping companies. I hope we will find a resolution to this issue,” he said. The minister also said India will continue to meet its commitments to international buyers despite the disruptions. “We will continue to ensure that all our international commitments are met. Even during the Covid pandemic, India met all its international commitments, which earned us the acronym of a trusted partner, and we will continue to be the trusted partner of the world,” he said.In 2025, India imported goods worth about $157 billion from the region while exports to West Asian economies stood at around $67 billion.
