Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today welcomed the center's move to allow States to directly market their own products and services to other countries and hence become ambassadors of their products.The move marks the fulfillment of a long standing demand raised by the Punjab Chief Minister at various fora to decentralize export process. Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's office said that Mr. Badal had always advocated the direct trading system between a state and countries of its choice.
Commending the proposal, which was presently with the Ministry of External Affairs for granting permission to the states foropening Trade Desks with other country, Mr. Badal said that an era of new trade regime would begin with this decision. He also urged the Centre to expedite the process in this regard so that the states would be immensely benefitted.It may be recalled that the center has asked Indian embassies across the world to provide space to states to show their trade and commerce potential and facilitate exports. The biggest beneficiary f this proposal would the Punjab farmers whose produce and its value added products would find new markets all across the world, thus bringing remunerative prices for the producers. The SAD BJP government had been urging the previous UPA government also to introduce direct trading system between states and foreign countries for encouraging economic growth of the Country, but issue had never been seriously take-up by that government.