New Delhi, May 2 (IANS). Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and European Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sephakovic have expressed their common consent to fulfill the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025.
According to an official statement released on Friday after a meeting in Brussels, the two sides reiterated their purpose of resolving the pending issues with a sense of mutual respect. It also includes the next meeting to be held in New Delhi on 12-16 May.
The statement said that the commitment is based on the strategic direction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission Chairman Ursula von Der Leyen during the Delhi visit of the European Union in February this year.
Union Minister Goyal wrote in the social media platform X post, “My conversation with the European Union’s Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sephakovic was productive. We confirmed our shared commitment to end the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiations by the end of 2025.”
The Union Minister said, “As we are moving forward in our dialogue, our focus is to deepen our partnerships to increase the market access to the market, promote reliable and diverse supply chains and further the development of our economies.”
“We also discussed the important role of investment and dynamics in promoting innovation and competition and shaping the agreement prepared for the future,” he said.
The Union Minister said that both India and the European Union, led by PM Modi and the President of the European Union, are committed to working towards mutually beneficial and strategic agreement for the common prosperity and sustainable development of their regions.
The meeting highlighted the progress made on various talks.
India said that for meaningful progress in trade talks, tariffs require equal attention to tariff discussions as well as non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
India-European Union FTA aspires to show the emerging realities of global commerce by promoting various and strong supply chains by supporting digital transition.
The two sides hoped that the agreement would serve as a transformation pillar of the broad India-European Union Strategic Partnership Once concluded, will increase market access, support regulatory cooperation and promote innovation and competition on both sides.
-IANS
SKT/KR
