Piyush Goyal seeks stronger India-Africa trade integration through aligned standards

Commerce and Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday referred to as for aligning standards, customs procedures and enterprise practices between India and African nations to speed up bilateral trade and deepen financial partnerships, PTI reported.Addressing a curtain raiser occasion for the upcoming India-Africa Enterprise Dialogue (IABD) and Exhibition, Goyal stated the African Continental Free Trade Space (AfCFTA), valued at practically $3.4 trillion, together with India’s quickly increasing $4 trillion economic system, gives important alternatives for resilient provide chains and higher-value manufacturing partnerships.In accordance with the commerce ministry, the minister “emphasised the necessity to construct upon present trade ties and preferential trade frameworks by aligning standards, customs procedures and enterprise practices to facilitate quicker and smarter progress for companies on either side”.Goyal stated India and Africa ought to transfer past conventional uncooked materials trade and give attention to built-in worth chains and manufacturing collaboration.He recognized renewable power, inexperienced hydrogen, inexperienced ammonia, electrical mobility, digitalisation and telecommunications as key sectors for increasing bilateral cooperation.India-Africa bilateral trade rose 14.39 per cent year-on-year to $93.69 billion in 2025-26.India’s exports to Africa stood at $45.42 billion through the fiscal, whereas imports from African nations reached $48.27 billion.