Protected India’s interests by fixing Bali agreement: Centre

Days after getting its demand on food security accommodated by World Trade Organization, the government Wednesday said it protected India’s interests by seeking a course correction in the Bali agreement. It said the government has succeeded in removing the “ambiguity” over the permanency of the peace clause on public stock holding for food security purposes.

Replying to clarifications sought by members in Rajya Sabha, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rejected opposition’s claim’s that the Centre’s position had resulted in New Delhi “losing its friends”. “We had gone in as Abhimanyu, but came out successfully with 160 friends, building on our predecessor, who had 93 friends,” she said.

Earlier, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the government was trying to project that a new breakthrough in WTO has been achieved and that the Geneva agreement was the outcome of efforts made only by the new government and the PM, which, he argued, was not the case.