The Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce (DITC), Government of Goa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India and the Office of the Additional DGFT, Mumbai, held a State-Level Workshop on“Leveraging Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)” under the theme“Goa to the World – Unlocking Global Trade Opportunities” at Terminal Banquets, Caculo Enclave, St. Inez, Panaji.
The event was conducted by Vibrant Goa Foundation in association with DITC. The workshop brought together Government officials, export-promotion institutions, industry representatives, manufacturers, exporters and other stakeholders to explore opportunities available to Goa through India’s growing network of Free Trade Agreements.
The inaugural session was graced by the Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant. Santosh Sukhadeve, IAS, Secretary (Industries), Government of Goa, delivered the Welcome Address, while Amitabh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, addressed the gathering on leveraging FTAs, preferential market access, Rules of Origin, standards and market-entry provisions.
The workshop focused on enabling businesses in Goa to better understand the opportunities emerging from India’s Free Trade Agreements and to identify sectors and products with potential for expansion into international markets. Dr. Praveen Kumar, Joint DGFT, presented Goa’s existing and future export-potential sectors and products, while another session provided a conceptual understanding of FTAs, including the rationale behind such agreements and approaches to identifying trade and investment opportunities.
R. K. Mishra, Additional DGFT, Mumbai, addressed the synergy between the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) and the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative. The programme also featured an online demonstration of Trade E-connect by DGFT Headquarters.
Adding a practical industry perspective to the deliberations, local exporters from Goa shared insights from their own export journeys and highlighted how support and interventions from the Central and State Governments have enabled them to successfully undertake exports from the State. Their experiences provided participating enterprises with a ground-level perspective on accessing overseas markets and utilising the available institutional support.
A major component of the workshop was the conduct of four concurrent, sector-specific breakout sessions covering Engineering & Electronics, Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals, Marine & Food Products, and Services. The sessions facilitated focused interaction among industry participants and relevant organisations, including Goa Chambers, EEPC India,
The outcomes emerging from these sectoral discussions were subsequently presented and deliberated upon towards formulation of a comprehensive State Action Plan. The programme also focused on finalising further District-Level Meetings for deeper engagement and development of District-Level Action Plans, thereby taking the initiative beyond the State-level workshop towards focused follow-up action.
The workshop marked an important step towards strengthening coordination between Government, export-promotion institutions and Goa’s business community, with the larger objective of enabling more manufacturers, MSMEs and exporters from the State to identify and utilise emerging opportunities in global markets through India’s Free Trade Agreements.
