WORLD

Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) Poland wants more Indian investment in clean energy, information technology and industrial sectors and is positioning itself as a gateway for Indian companies seeking access to the wider European Union market, Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski has said.

In an exclusive interview with IANS on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting here, Domanski made a direct pitch to Indian companies looking to expand their presence in Europe.

“For sure, it’s the clean energy transition. For sure it’s the IT sector. For sure, it’s some industrial sectors where India is strong in,” Domanski said when asked where Poland wanted to see greater investment from Indian companies.

But the minister said Poland’s proposition went beyond individual sectors. Its membership of the European Union, he said, could make the country a base for Indian businesses targeting the broader European market.

“We believe that Poland could be a very interesting hub for Indian investments in Europe,” Domanski said.

“We are a member of the European Union, so by investing in Poland, Indian companies get access to the European Union market,” he said.

The remarks signal Warsaw’s interest in developing a two-way investment relationship with India as Poland looks for new economic partners beyond its traditional markets.

Domański said Poland’s economy was expanding rapidly by European standards. He estimated GDP growth at between 3.5 and 3.6 per cent this year.

“Poland will be among the fastest-growing European economies. Actually, the fastest growing large European economy, both this year and probably next year,” he said.

That economic performance, Domanski said, had not diminished Warsaw’s push to develop new trading relationships.

“We are constantly looking for new important trading partners and India, a giant, a leader in Asia, well, it’s a country that we really like to have closer trade relations,” he said.

The minister also stressed Warsaw’s interest in building predictable and lasting economic ties with New Delhi.

“We see India as a global leader. We see India as a country of very ambitious people, like Polish people,” Domanski said.

“We want to build strong and stable trade relations with partners, partners like India,” he said.

Poland is a member of the 27-nation European Union and its single market. India and the EU have also been working to deepen their economic relationship, giving Poland an additional role as New Delhi seeks stronger commercial engagement with Europe.

–IANS

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Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called on G20 economies to help build a “new international economic order”, arguing that the global trading system designed decades ago is no longer equipped to address excess production, economic coercion, forced labour and other challenges.

Opening the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee on Wednesday (local time), Greer said the United States wanted candid discussions on four issues: the weaponisation of food, structural excess capacity and production, the Most-Favoured-Nation principle and forced labour in global supply chains.

“Here in Milwaukee, we gather as possible architects of a new international economic order,” Greer told ministers and delegates.

“The topics we will talk about at our meetings — weaponisation of food, structural excess capacity and production, MFN and forced labour — are ongoing challenges, the solutions to which expose the overall problem: we are trying to meet 21st century challenges with an architecture designed for another era,” he said.

Greer said the United States had already moved to reshape its trade relationships through tariffs and bilateral agreements.

“This is why, starting last year, the United States took action, using a combination of tariffs and bilateral deals to reduce our trade deficit, make our supply chains more resilient, and bring fairness, reciprocity, and balance to the global economy,” he said.

He also questioned whether unconditional application of the MFN principle continued to serve the needs of the international trading system.

“Many consider MFN to be the cornerstone of the global trading system. But even a cornerstone should be examined from time to time to ensure it is still supporting the structure we need,” Greer said.

“The MFN principle, particularly when applied unconditionally, constrains economies’ ability to effectively respond to distortive policies and adapt to changing market conditions,” he added.

On excess capacity, Greer said non-market policies that encouraged production far beyond domestic demand had consequences across borders, placing pressure on producers and workers in other economies.

He also described forced labour as both a humanitarian and trade issue because goods produced through such labour could enter markets with an artificial price advantage.

Greer urged G20 members not to push difficult trade questions back to the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

“Typically, and too often, when difficult questions and topics arise in the G20, many around the room suggest that such discussions belong elsewhere. That they should take place in Geneva at the WTO. But Geneva is just another city on a lake. And so is Milwaukee. So, let’s talk candidly and constructively here,” he said.

The US trade representative also brought India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal into a lighter moment while describing reform of the trading system as a long-term undertaking.

“Just as Antonio Gaudi started the ongoing work to build the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 1883, work to establish a trading system that is more balanced and fair will continue long after our tenures in office — maybe except for Piyush who is trade minister for life!” Greer said.

He said reform did not require countries to abandon everything inherited from the existing system, but argued that older ideas should not remain unchanged simply because they had shaped international trade for decades.

Greer recalled that G20 leaders had committed in 2016 to tackle excess industrial capacity. Ten years later, he said, the problem had become an even greater distortion in the global economy.

The Milwaukee ministerial is part of the US G20 presidency ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, which the United States is preparing to host for the first time on American soil since 2009. Greer said the two-day trade meeting was intended to create a greater sense of urgency and recognition among participating economies that action was needed.

He framed Milwaukee, historically associated with manufacturing, as an appropriate setting for the debate. Earlier in the day, delegates visited a Rockwell Automation production facility. Greer said the visit illustrated the kind of production-oriented economy the Trump administration wanted to encourage and the benefits it believes can flow from a more balanced, fair and reciprocal trading system.

–IANS

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Washington, Oct 1 (IANS) A US federal judge ordered the State Department to continue processing specified diversity-visa applications for 10 days beyond the fiscal-year deadline, finding that the department had delayed complying with an earlier court order.

US District Judge Edward Davila in California on Wednesday (local time) granted part of an emergency request by applicants.

The order requires the department to make reasonable, good-faith efforts to reconsider applications refused solely under two suspended visa policies and resume ordinary processing of pending applications.

It does not guarantee applicants a visa. Davila also rejected a broader request to reserve approximately 40,000 unused diversity visas for issuance beyond the fiscal year.

“The Court finds DOS’s compliance with the PI has been less than substantial, and its lack of diligence from the time it received the Court’s order to the time it implemented the order is of exceptional significance,” Davila wrote.

The preliminary injunction, issued August 28, had temporarily set aside policies identified in the ruling as the State Department’s diversity-visa pause and its 75-country pause.

It directed the department to reconsider affected applications and resume processing during the remaining weeks of the fiscal year.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, the department attributed its initial delay to preparing guidance for diplomatic and consular posts. Davila said it should have sought a temporary stay, requested other relief or informed the court of the delay.

Instead, the department waited until applicants raised its noncompliance before sending instructions to overseas posts, the judge found.

Processing remained slow after those instructions went out. The ruling said the department adjudicated approximately 83 diversity visas a day worldwide between September 10 and September 21, compared with roughly 230 a day in September 2025.

The department attributed the slower pace to required training concerning public-charge inadmissibility, according to the order. Posts that had not completed the training generally could not resume immigrant-visa processing, subject to exceptions.

Davila said the department had again failed to promptly inform the court how that requirement affected compliance.

Processing accelerated after a September 21 hearing. By September 28, the department had processed 3,814 visas, averaging approximately 272 a day during the period covered by the court’s calculation.

–IANS

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Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) Brazil and India are moving towards substantially expanding the existing India-Mercosur preferential trade agreement, with the two sides completing work on terms of reference that could pave the way for negotiations on a broader trade arrangement, a senior Brazilian minister has said.

Brazil’s Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Márcio Elias Rosa said India was an important economic partner for Brazil and that the existing trade arrangement was too limited.

“India is a highly important trading partner to Brazil,” Rosa told IANS in response to a question on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting here.

“India is an economy that is very important to the whole wide world. We have good relations with them,” he said.

Rosa was responding to questions from IANS after his meeting with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

“What we discussed now is a possibility of having an agreement, a broad agreement, between the two economies and Mercosur,” he said.

Mercosur is the South American trade bloc that includes Brazil.

Rosa said the existing preferential trade arrangement between India and Mercosur covered only a small number of products.

“We already have a tariff preference agreement, but it’s very shy. It’s just 450 tariff funds. Meaning that nothing absolutely. So we need to expand that,” he said, according to the English interpretation provided during the gaggle.

The Brazilian minister indicated that discussions with India had already advanced to the stage of defining the framework for further negotiations.

“We’ve just finished drafting a term of reference. Similar to what is just now being drafted with the US,” Rosa said.

“Once we define that, we can build proposals,” he added.

Rosa described his meeting with the Indian side as “excellent” and indicated that further work would take place over the coming months.

The discussions point to an effort by Brazil and India to broaden a commercial relationship beyond the existing tariff preferences and identify areas where greater market access could be negotiated.

The minister separately identified several sectors in which Brazil and India could deepen cooperation, including the bioeconomy, circular economy and digital economy. He also referred to artificial intelligence, skills development and defence during the discussions.

–IANS

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Washington, Oct 1 (IANS) President Donald Trump told a White House audience to “watch” what Secretary of State Marco Rubio does with Cuba, singling out the Cuban-American diplomat while praising his handling of US foreign policy.

“Watch what he does with Cuba. Watch what he does with Cuba,” Trump said on Wednesday (local time) during a National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the White House.

Trump did not elaborate on the remark or announce any new US policy towards Cuba during his speech.

The comment came as Trump introduced Rubio, whom he described as the highest-ranking Hispanic American in US history.

“We’re also honoured to be joined on this occasion by the highest-ranking Hispanic American in the history of our country,” Trump said.

“And he’s a man who everyone is just — they’ve fallen in love with him, he’s very special.”

Trump suggested Rubio’s work involving Cuba would be closely watched, but then broadened his praise to the Secretary of State’s overall role in foreign affairs.

“But regardless, Hispanic American or no matter who he deals with, anybody all over the world, he’s a master,” Trump said.

Trump then invited Rubio to address the gathering.

Rubio used his brief remarks to speak about Hispanic Americans’ attachment to the United States and the experiences of immigrant families.

“All I would say is Hispanic Americans, we are Americans. We love this country,” Rubio said.

“And we love it because so many of us either know firsthand, or through our parents or grandparents, what life is like in other countries.”

Rubio said those experiences had given Hispanic Americans an understanding of the freedoms and opportunities available in the United States.

“And so, we know how special this country is. It’s the place that gave us freedom; it’s the place that gave us opportunity; it’s the place that’s given our parents, our grandparents, and many of you the chance not just to do well in life, but to do the most important thing any of us ever want, and that is to leave our children better off than ourselves,” Rubio said.

“That is what makes America special, that’s why we love it, that’s why we’re passionate about it, that is our heritage in this country.”

Rubio concluded: “We are proud to be Americans, and I’m proud to be here and to serve under you, Mr President.”

Trump responded by again praising Rubio.

“So, how did he do? Good, right? He’s an unbelievable man. Really amazing,” Trump said.

The President’s reference to Cuba came during a speech in which Latin America and US policy towards the region surfaced repeatedly. Trump also spoke about Venezuela, immigration and his administration’s relationship with Hispanic Americans.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long been closely associated with US policy towards Cuba and Latin America. Before joining the Trump administration, he represented Florida in the US Senate and was a prominent congressional voice on Cuba, Venezuela and other Western Hemisphere issues.

Relations between Washington and Havana have shifted substantially between US administrations. Cuba remains a major foreign-policy issue in Florida, home to a large Cuban-American community, and US policy towards the island has long involved disputes over sanctions, political freedoms, migration and diplomatic engagement.

–IANS

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Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) Poland sees significant scope for expanding defence and space cooperation with India and plans to bring Polish space companies to the country as Warsaw doubles its investment in the sector, Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski has said.

In an exclusive interview with IANS on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting here, Domanski identified defence, space, machinery and food processing as areas with potential for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries.

“As a country that is rapidly developing its defence industry, we believe there’s a lot of room for cooperation in the defence industry,” Domański said.

The minister also highlighted space as an emerging area for bilateral cooperation.

“We also decided to double our investments in the space industry. For sure, we will bring our space industry companies to India,” he said.

Domanski said machinery offered another avenue for expanding commercial ties between the two countries.

“We are very strong in machinery, so this is another sector for further cooperation,” he said.

Food processing was another area where Poland believed there was room for growth.

“Last but not least, the food processing sector, where Poland is an important exporter of food products, among them poultry, and we believe there’s room for growing numbers in this sector,” Domanski said.

His comments came as Warsaw seeks to give a stronger economic dimension to its relationship with New Delhi.

Domanski described India as an important global economy with which Poland wanted stable economic relations.

“We see India as a global leader. We see India as a country of very ambitious people, like Polish people,” he said.

“We see India as a democracy, which is very important and a country with which we want to build stable economic ties,” Domanski said.

The Polish minister said Warsaw was looking for new trading partners as its own economy continued to expand.

Poland expects its economy to grow by about 3.5 to 3.6 per cent this year, according to Domański. He described it as among the fastest-growing large European economies.

“We are constantly looking for new important trading partners, and India, a giant, a leader in Asia, well, it’s a country that we really like to have closer trade relations,” he said.

–IANS

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Washington, Oct 1 (IANS) Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi urged political leaders from both parties to confront racism after a research organisation reported a sharp increase in hateful online posts targeting South Asians in the United States.

The Illinois Democrat responded to a study by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate that reported a 240 per cent increase in monthly anti-South Asian hate posts on X.

According to a summary released by his office, the study identified approximately 542,360 hateful posts targeting South Asians between January 2025 and June 2026.

Posts portraying South Asians as invaders, job thieves or a demographic threat accounted for 45 per cent of the material identified, the congressional release said.

The figures concern online posts during an 18-month research period. They do not represent a count of physical attacks, reported crimes or individual victims.

“The 240 per cent surge in monthly anti-South Asian hate on X did not come out of nowhere,” Krishnamoorthi said in the statement on Wednesday (local time).

He accused politicians and the Trump administration of contributing to hostility towards the community.

“We have watched politicians demonise South Asians over something as ordinary as attending a college football game and the Trump Administration traffic in racist stereotypes targeting people named Singh.”

The Congressman’s office did not provide further details about those incidents in the release. His remarks were political criticism, separate from the study’s numerical findings.

Krishnamoorthi called for a response that crossed party lines.

“Americans of every background, and leaders of both parties, need to speak out against racism and xenophobia wherever they appear.”

He also defended South Asian Americans’ place in the country.

“South Asian Americans are as much a part of the fabric of America as anyone else, and no amount of hate can erase the contributions we have made to this country.”

The study, titled The Rising Tide of Anti-South Asian Hate in the United States, identified immigration politics, economic resentment, political rhetoric and the digital amplification of hate among factors driving the increase, according to his office.

The fresh development Wednesday was Krishnamoorthi’s response and his appeal for political leaders to challenge racism.

South Asian Americans include people with family origins across the Indian subcontinent. The category encompasses several national, linguistic and religious communities, so findings concerning South Asians as a group cannot automatically be treated as figures concerning Indian-Americans alone.

Krishnamoorthi represents Illinois’ 8th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. A Democrat of Indian origin, he is among the Indian-American lawmakers serving in Congress, where members can raise community concerns through public statements, legislation and oversight.

–IANS

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Washington, Oct 1 (IANS) South Korea’s government will invest up to $200 billion in US energy projects, including eight nuclear power plants and a long-planned natural gas pipeline in Alaska, President Donald Trump has announced.

It includes $54 billion for Alaska LNG and another six-gigawatt power generation facility in Texas.

“Today, we’re thrilled to announce one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in American history,” Trump said at a White House event on Wednesday (local time).

Trump said the South Korean government would finance the projects through agreements negotiated by his administration.

“Thanks to the agreements my administration has secured with the Republic of Korea, they will invest up to $200 billion; that’s the Korean government, $200 billion to build a six-gigawatt power generation facility in Texas.”

He then listed the other projects.

“Eight new large-scale nuclear power plants and, at long last, an Alaska liquefied natural gas pipeline.”

The Alaska project would carry natural gas through an 807-mile, or roughly 1,300-kilometre, pipeline from the state’s North Slope to an export terminal in southern Alaska.

The terminal is designed to produce up to 20 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually, according to the White House. LNG is natural gas cooled into liquid form so it can be transported by ship.

The White House said the pipeline would also provide a reliable, year-round gas supply for Alaska residents and lower their energy costs. Those benefits depend on the project being developed.

The announcement concerns investment commitments. Trump’s description of funding of “up to $200 billion” sets a ceiling; it does not establish that the entire amount has been transferred or spent.

A White House official, speaking on background before the event, linked the projects to the broader $350 billion trade deal and strategic investment memorandum between the United States and South Korea.

The official said the investments would advance US energy projects and strengthen trade, investment and energy security between the two countries.

Trump credited Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska with pursuing the pipeline project and thanked him for his involvement.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Trump at the event. Alaska Rep. Nick Begich was also present.

The November 2025 US-South Korea framework included $150 billion in shipbuilding investment and $200 billion in additional strategic investment. A joint White House fact sheet said South Korea would not be required to provide more than $20 billion in US dollars in any calendar year.

Alaska LNG received US federal regulatory authorisation in May 2020. Its developer describes two financially independent phases: a pipeline supplying Alaska’s domestic market, followed by a liquefaction facility and related infrastructure at Nikiski to enable exports.

Glenfarne owns 75 per cent of the project, while the state of Alaska holds the remaining 25 per cent through the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation.

–IANS

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Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk will visit India at the end of October with nearly 100 leading Polish companies as Warsaw seeks a sharp expansion of economic ties with New Delhi, Poland’s Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domanski told IANS.

Tusk plans to travel to both New Delhi and Bengaluru, with economic cooperation at the centre of the visit, Domanski said in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday (local time).

“This meeting was like one-on-one without media presence. So what I can say is that we are discussing, among many other topics, the visit of Prime Minister Tusk that will take place at the end of October to India,” Domanski said, referring to his meeting with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

“The Prime Minister is planning to visit not only Delhi, but also Bangalore. And this mission will have a very strong economic background and will have strong emphasis on economic issues,” he said.

Domanski said bilateral relations were improving but remained well below their potential.

“We are happy that we managed to get a consensus on the India-EU level. That being said, it’s up to each member state to enhance cooperation and trade,” he said.

“And I can say that we will bring close to 100 leading Polish companies to participate in this trip to India.”

The minister described Poland as a rapidly growing European economy, with growth estimated at 3.5 to 3.6 per cent this year. Warsaw, he said, was looking for new trading partners, with India high on that list.

“India, a giant, a leader in Asia, well, it’s a country that we really like to have closer trade relations,” Domański said.

Defence, space, machinery and food processing are among the sectors where Poland sees opportunities for greater cooperation with India.

“As a country that is rapidly developing its defence industry, we believe there’s a lot of room for cooperation in the defence industry,” he said.

“We also decided to double our investments in the space industry. For sure, we will bring our space industry companies to India,” Domanski said.

He said Poland was also strong in machinery and saw opportunities in food processing, including poultry exports.

For Indian companies looking at Poland, Domanski pointed to clean energy, information technology and industrial sectors. He also pitched Poland as an entry point to the wider European market.

“We believe that Poland could be a very interesting hub for Indian investments in Europe,” he said. “We are a member of the European Union, so by investing in Poland, Indian companies get access to the European Union market.”

Domanski also placed India’s democratic system at the centre of Warsaw’s approach to building long-term economic ties.

“We see India as a global leader. We see India as a country of very ambitious people, like Polish people,” he said.

“We see India as a democracy, which is very important and a country with which we want to build stable economic ties.”

At the G20 meeting, Domanski said Poland raised what he called the weaponisation of trade in agricultural products. He pointed to disruptions caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and restrictions on Black Sea trade.

He also underscored the role he sees for New Delhi in global commerce.

“India is a leader. India is not only one of the largest, one of the biggest global economies, but really also a country of high GDP growth,” he said.

“I really hope that Poland, the European Union and India will be much closer trade allies, trade partners than they are today.”

India and Poland elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Warsaw in August 2024. The two countries also adopted a five-year action plan covering areas including trade and investment, defence, energy, green technologies, agriculture and infrastructure.

PM Modi’s trip was the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Poland in 45 years. Tusk last visited India as Poland’s Prime Minister in 2010. During PM Modi’s 2024 visit, he invited Tusk to visit India.

–IANS

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Washington, Oct 1 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has called Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot of a Flydubai aircraft, a “hero”, recounting how the badly wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door after being stabbed by the co-pilot during a dramatic mid-air incident on a flight bound for Israel.

Trump said he spoke “at length” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident. He repeatedly cautioned, however, that the extraordinary account he had received had not been independently established.

“I think it’s an incredible story,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the Flydubai plane. “But I did speak to Bibi Netanyahu at length about this event.”

Trump said the account he received suggested that “the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job, and he stabbed the pilot”.

“The pilot was in very bad shape, and I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to — amazing, to — in a way, he was a hero to open the door,” Trump said.

The President then gave a vivid account of what he said happened inside the aircraft.

“You know, those doors are solid steel. You can’t get them open from outside. He was able to fall back and get the door open and scream,” Trump said.

According to Trump, an Israeli plumber sitting towards the front of the aircraft heard the commotion and entered the cockpit.

Trump said the aircraft was descending at a sharp angle when the passenger intervened.

“The plane was going sharply down at an unbelievable angle, so sharp that the rudder ripped off the back of the plane. Plane wasn’t designed to go at a speed anywhere near that,” he said.

Trump said the plumber pulled the alleged attacker from the seat before other passengers restrained him.

“And having never flown apart — a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up and levelled out the plane before it crashed,” Trump said.

But Trump immediately qualified his account.

“Now, this is the story that I heard. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi…” he said.

Trump said the passenger later explained that he had watched the television programme “Air Disasters” and had picked up some knowledge about aircraft from the show.

“He learned from watching that show sort of how to fly. I mean, you tell me, this is the craziest thing,” Trump said.

He said other pilots and security personnel aboard the aircraft subsequently reached the cockpit and took control.

“They came up, they took over the plane. I think it’s the most amazing story,” Trump said.

Asked whether the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft, Trump again stressed that the motive had not been established.

“They said he wanted to crash. They don’t know that. They don’t know that kind of information,” he said.

The Flydubai flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when a violent incident occurred in the cockpit, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The wounded captain has been identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar.

Public reports said passengers and crew intervened before additional flight crew took control of the aircraft and landed it safely.

The motive remained under investigation on Wednesday. Flydubai said the aircraft had experienced an incident and that the passengers were safe, while reports said Saudi authorities were questioning the alleged attacker. The passengers later continued their journey to Israel on another aircraft.

–IANS

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Milwaukee, Oct 1 (IANS) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stepped up India’s trade diplomacy on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting, holding talks with senior ministers from Brazil and Poland as major economies used the Milwaukee gathering to pursue bilateral trade and investment priorities.

On Wednesday (local time), Goyal met Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Marcio Elias Rosa during the gathering.

The meeting came on a busy day of trade diplomacy for the Brazilian delegation, with Vieira and Elias Rosa also holding talks with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Brazil and the United States agreed during those talks to establish a working group to discuss a possible trade agreement, according to Brazilian accounts of the meeting.

The talks with Greer lasted about 40 minutes and came amid tariff differences between Washington and Brasilia. Brazilian officials said the two sides wanted to move quickly with the next stages of discussions, with the United States expected to propose a scope for the new working group.

Goyal separately met Poland’s Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domanski and discussed expanding trade and investment between India and Poland, including opportunities arising from the proposed India-European Union free trade agreement.

“Held a productive meeting with Mr Andrzej Domański, Minister of Finance and Economy of Poland, on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting,” Goyal said.

“Discussed new avenues to further strengthen trade & investment ties, and how the India-EU FTA can create new opportunities for businesses and deepen economic cooperation between India & Poland,” he said.

The discussion gave Goyal’s Milwaukee engagements an additional European dimension as India seeks to expand commercial ties with individual EU members alongside its negotiations with the European bloc.

Goyal also met Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, and exchanged views on expanding the American company’s engagement in India.

“India’s rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, expanding industrial base, and strong technological capabilities present exciting avenues for collaboration in industrial automation and digital transformation,” Goyal said.

He invited Rockwell Automation “to leverage India’s skilled engineering talent and supportive policy environment to build resilient, tech-driven supply chains for the world.”

Rockwell Automation was also at the centre of the G20 programme Wednesday, with Greer and visiting trade ministers touring its Milwaukee operations as the Trump administration showcased American manufacturing.

The bilateral meetings were taking place alongside the formal G20 discussions hosted by Greer on global trade rules, forced labour, food trade, supply chains and structural industrial overcapacity.

Canada was also pursuing an active bilateral agenda in Milwaukee. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu’s programme included meetings with several counterparts, while a meeting with India’s representative is expected Thursday.

For India, attention will also focus on engagement with the United States as New Delhi and Washington seek to advance negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement and an interim trade deal.

The Commerce Ministry said ahead of Goyal’s visit that his US engagements would form part of efforts to advance “a balanced and mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and finalise an interim deal in line with the Joint Statement of 7 February 2026.”

Goyal’s Milwaukee visit began with a roundtable involving CEOs and senior executives from US manufacturing and technology companies, where he urged American businesses to deepen their presence in India, partner with Indian small and medium enterprises and explore opportunities in advanced manufacturing.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Thursday extended greetings to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, also celebrated as the country’s National Day.

Taking to X, EAM Jaishankar said, “Extend my felicitations to Politburo Member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Chinese people on the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.”

The founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is marked every year on October 1. It commemorates Mao Zedong’s formal proclamation in 1949 establishing the PRC.

The greeting comes against the backdrop of improving India-China ties in recent times.

Earlier, during his New York visit, EAM Jaishankar said that India’s relationship with China has improved from the depths of their border stand-off, but the condition of the frontier will continue to determine how far the two countries can normalise ties.

EAM Jaishankar said the India-China relationship was better than it had been in 2025, and better still compared with 2024. He cautioned against treating that recovery as a fundamental change in the relationship.

“I don’t think it’s structural change so much as a recovery from how far ties had deteriorated, he said. After the events of 2020 and the prolonged border stand-off, normal contact between the two countries had been severely affected.

Trade continued, but official exchanges, visas and flights were disrupted, he said. As the stand-off eased, some of those contacts began to return. EAM Jaishankar described that as a natural consequence of stabilisation rather than proof that the underlying issues had disappeared.

“A dip in our relationship actually doesn’t help either of us,” he said, adding that third parties could benefit from such a situation.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where the two leaders emphasised that “differences should not become disputes” and reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long-term perspective of their ties.

During the meeting, PM Modi stressed that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations.

Both leaders also took note of the progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders agreed that both sides must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues, and in addressing challenges.

–IANS

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