In the clearest articulation of India’s position on the WTO standoff, from the highest level, PM Narendra Modi on Friday forcefully told visiting US secretary of state John Kerry that the first responsibility of his government was to the poorest people of the country.
During a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker here on Friday, Modi said that developing nations face the challenge of tackling poverty and that their governments’ first responsibility is to address that problem.
“I am more concerned about the small Indian farmer, even though I believe the trade facilitation agreement is good for India,” Modi said. The PM was responding to Kerry who told him the failure to get a WTO deal “undermines” Modi’s message of India being open for business. The India-US strategic dialogue has been clouded by the Indian blockade of the trade facilitation agreement, as the talks failed in Geneva on Thursday night.
Kerry was reported to have told Modi during the meeting that India’s position on the WTO agreement was sending confusing signals to the international community.
“I think the PM is on record to have said that development challenges that developing countries face are something that should be understood by all,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin later said.
Modi told Kerry that US farm sizes could not be compared to Indian marginal farmers and therefore a solution had to be found for the food security problem. India has said food security discussions should be held simultaneously with the TFA or food prices should reflect current prices.