Planning to establish centre for FTA negotiations, biz deals: Comm secy

The commerce ministry is looking at setting up a centre for negotiations, as this is an important skill set required in areas like free trade agreements and other business deals, a top government official said on Tuesday.

Addressing students and faculties of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) here, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the centre can also help in creating a skill set among students of the institute.

"Negotiations are going to be a very very important skill these days. When we do FTAs, negotiation skills are a very important tool, so we have to create one centre for negotiations. But that centre is not just supposed to do FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations, we have to get into the broader framework of negotiations, which also involves mergers and acquisitions and other business deals," Barthwal said.

 

This centre will not be only for the government, but it will also be able to create skill sets among IIFT students.

"So, that is the initiative, we will be taking up," he said while launching MBA (International Business) and MBA (Business Analytics) 2024-26 Programmes at the IIFT.

The secretary also asked the institute to interact with the two other sister institutions - the Centre for WTO Studies and the Centre for Trade and Investment Law.

The ranking of IIFT has to be improved, and students, faculty and alumni have to work together for that, he added.

The commerce ministry's IIFT rankings slipped three notches to 27th under the management category in the NIRF ranking 2023.

In 2022, it was at the 24th spot against 25th in 2021. It was 26th in 2020 and 31st in 2019. It was at 23rd rank in 2018, 30th in 2017 and 81st in 2016.

Further, the secretary suggested the institute to enhance interaction with industry, as it would help in improving the syllabus and curriculum.

Talking about exports, he said there are certain sectors, which hold huge potential to boost the country's outbound shipments, and those include pharmaceuticals, auto, chemicals, textiles and apparel.

Barthwal, who is also the Chancellor of IIFT, said in the increasingly interconnected world, international business and business analytics play pivotal roles in shaping the global economy.

International trade remains a cornerstone of economic growth, creating jobs, and fostering innovation. Simultaneously, business analytics is transforming the way organisations operate, enabling data-driven decision-making and providing insights that drive efficiency and competitiveness.

Speaking at the occasion, IIFT Vice Chancellor Rakesh Mohan Joshi emphasised the significance of hard work and imbibing contemporary managerial skills as critical factors for success in corporate life.

He also reiterated his commitment to transform IIFT into a world-class institute of global repute specialising in international business and trade based on cutting-edge contemporary research, training and education.