India and the European Union (EU) have reaffirmed their commitment to conclude the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations by the end of 2025. Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, held a key meeting with European Union Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic, in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the progress. Goyal termed the discussion as "highly productive."
Addressing media in Brussels, Sefcovic said that the EU "deeply" values its partnership with India, and it is committed to taking it to the next level by securing a commercially meaningful agreement, which opens up the markets for both goods and services.
"I am very happy to say that we are on the right track, that we are making solid headway towards a balanced, mutually beneficial deal," said Sefcovic.
"And therefore, I would conclude by saying, let's scale this, let's get this deal done by the end of this year," he added.
Goyal also asserted that both parties discussed boosting innovation and competitiveness and the critical role of investments and mobility in shaping a future-ready agreement.
"We reaffirmed our shared commitment to conclude negotiations by the end of 2025...I think this has been a very, very productive engagement which reflects the strategic importance both sides attached to a modern, balanced and future oriented free trade agreement," he said.
"As we advance in our negotiations, our focus is on enhancing market access for businesses, promoting trusted and diversified supply chains, and deepening our partnership to drive the growth of our economies," Goyal added.
Officials of both sides are meeting for the next round of talks from May 12-16 here to follow up on the productive discussions.
History of India-EU FTAs
So far, India and the EU have completed ten rounds of negotiations for the proposed agreement. India and the 27-nation bloc resumed the negotiations in June 2022 after a gap of over eight years. It stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets.
As US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs sent shockwaves to global market, countries worldwide started exploring their pending trade talks and India was no exception. On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by the end of this year.
According to Leyen, this would be "the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world. " The negotiations between the two sides started way back in 2007.
[With inputs from PTI]
