Delhi: Member nations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) "will come around" and agree to India's terms, Home Minister Amit Shah says in his piece for Economic Times on the RCEP issue.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would not join the trade agreement due to the "impact it would have on the lives and livelihood of all Indians, especially vulnerable sections of the society".
In his article, Shah, the right-hand to Modi praised the PM’s stand on RCEP. He said that the decision cemented "India's growing stature as a country that is rock solid in its resolve to not only protect its own interests, but also to boldly ward off any attempts to being arm-twisted".
However, Arvind Panagariya, former NITI Aayog vice-chairman, has been not so hopeful about India’s decision on the pact. He has said that India not affiliating with pact can cause multinational companies to think twice before entering India.
Members of the 15-nation strong trade agreement remain open to negotiating with India over details of the deal. A day after India refused to join the pact, China said it "stands ready" to resolve India's issues through negotiations "in the spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation" and welcomed the joining of India at an "early date".
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had seemingly echoed the sentiment, saying the decision to not enter into the trade agreement was the final decision "for the present".
"But if all our demands are met...then I think every government is always open to discussions and negotiations", Goyal had added.
Text-based negotiations on the agreement have been concluded among the 15 participating countries. The deal is expected to be signed in 2020.
