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Jaishankar pitches India's digital public infrastructure and trade deals to Commonwealth leaders in Antigua
Representing India at the CHOGM executive session in St John's, the External Affairs Minister said digital public infrastructure has helped democratise economies and that India's free trade agreements support resilient supply chains.
Key points
- Jaishankar represented India at the Commonwealth heads' executive session in Antigua.
- He said digital public infrastructure has helped democratise economies.
- He pointed to India's free trade agreements and ongoing negotiations as support for steady trade.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has told Commonwealth leaders that India’s model of digital public infrastructure can help widen opportunity, as he represented India at the executive session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
“Honoured to represent India” at the session, Jaishankar wrote on X. He said digital public infrastructure has helped democratise economies by expanding opportunities, a theme India has pressed in global forums since its G20 presidency.
He also pointed to India’s recent free trade agreements and the negotiations still under way, saying they would support predictable trade and resilient supply chains.
The summit, held from November 1 to 4, runs under the theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth”. Jaishankar was received at the airport by Foreign Affairs Minister Everly Chet Greene and Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Charles Fernandes.
On Tuesday, Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, addressed the pre-CHOGM meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers. He spoke of people-centred outcomes, including making technology work for development, climate action and disaster resilience, and reformed multilateralism.
Antigua is the last stop of a long Americas trip for the minister. Before the summit, he attended the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta on October 30 and 31, and a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in the United States, where he also held bilateral talks.