The third Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Ministerial Meeting was held in California's San Francisco on November 14, 2023. Hosted by the US, the meet witnessed India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal representing the South Asian nation.

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At the ministerial meeting, negotiations under the IPEF Pillar-III on Clean Economy, Pillar IV on Fair Economy and the agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity were substantially concluded. The Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity aims to establish a ministerial-level council and a commission.

Following the substantial conclusion of the negotiations on the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement in May 2023, the attendee ministers finally signed the agreement. A pillar-wise press statement was issued at the end of the San Francisco ministerial meeting highlighting the contours and the efforts planned under each of the substantially concluded pillars.

IPEF was launched jointly by the US and 13 other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022, at Japan’s Tokyo. The list of 14 countries includes Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam & the US.

IPEF seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partner countries with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to Trade (Pillar I), Supply Chains (Pillar II), Clean Economy (Pillar III), and Fair Economy (Pillar IV). India has joined Pillars II to IV of IPEF while maintaining an observer status in Pillar-I discussions.

Under the Clean Economy (Pillar-III), IPEF partners are aiming to advance cooperation on research & development, commercialisation, availability, accessibility, deployment of clean energy, climate-friendly technologies and facilitation of investment towards climate-related projects in the region.

During India's intervention under this pillar, Piyush Goyal emphasised the need for increased collaboration among partners on research and development of innovative and affordable climate-friendly technologies, highlighting the importance of prioritising the implementation of cooperative work programmes envisaged under this pillar, including hydrogen supply chain initiative and other proposals in the pipeline such as India’s proposal for biofuels and e-waste recycling.

Under the Fair Economy (Pillar-IV), IPEF partners aim to strengthen the implementation of effective anti-corruption and tax measures to boost commerce, trade and investment among IPEF economies.

During India's intervention under this pillar, the minister stressed the need to enhance information sharing among partners, facilitate asset recovery and strengthen cross-border investigations and prosecutions as the key benefits to emerge from the agreement. He added that these steps will strengthen the joint resolve to fight against corruption, money laundering and terror financing.

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(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Nov 17, 2023 3:12 PM IST