Govt to hold talks at WTO to protect fishermen interests, says Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, has said that the government will hold negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to protect the interests of the country’s fishermen.

He was addressing at the Beneficiary Meet organised by BJP at Aroor in Alappuzha district on Tuesday (June 6) night.

The Minister expressed concern over the depletion of fish stock in the ocean. He said prosperous countries with deep-sea vessels that take large quantities of fish from the ocean are responsible for the global crisis.

He observed that the Indian fishermen, who follow sustainable fishing practices and stay away from the ocean for nearly one and a half months during the breeding season, are not at fault for the depletion of the fish stock.

He also addressed an Investors Meet organised by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation in Kochi.

Commerce Minister Goyal said the PM Gati Shakti programme would be a game-changer and urged investors to take advantage of the initiative. He said, in future, other countries will emulate the PM Gati Shakti — the National Master Plan for Multi-Modal connectivity to various economic zones.