NRI Affairs Correspondent
The Trade Ministers of India, Japan and Australia formally launched the Supply Chain Resilience initiative in a Trilateral Ministerial Meeting held virtually on Wednesday.
Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan, India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Kajiyama Hiroshi, Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic was having an unprecedented impact in terms of lives lost, livelihoods and economies affected at a Ministerial videoconference.
According to a statement by the Indian government, the three ministers acknowledged that the pandemic had revealed supply chain vulnerabilities globally and in the region.
“Based on the high-level consultations among Australia, India and Japan since September last year, the Ministers noted the importance of risk management and continuity plans to avoid supply chain disruptions and affirmed their commitment to strengthen resilient supply chains,” reads the statement.
The three countries have agreed to support the enhanced utilization of digital technology and trade and investment diversification.
The trio launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), which will implement sharing of best practices on supply chain resilience and holding investment promotion events and buyer-seller matching events to provide opportunities for stakeholders to explore the possibility of diversification of their supply chains.
The Ministers have decided to meet at least once a year to review the implementation of the SCRI and consult on how to develop the Initiative.
“The SCRI aims to create a virtuous cycle of enhancing supply chain resilience with a view to eventually attaining strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in the region. The Ministers consented that expansion of the SCRI may be considered based on consensus, if needed, in due course,” said the Indian government in the statement.
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