INDIA will finalize a “mutually beneficial” free trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday after meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“We have asked our teams to work out a mutually beneficial bilateral free trade agreement by the end of this year,” Modi said in New Delhi.
Von der Leyen, who is on a two-day visit to India with her college of commissioners, is seeking to hedge against her bloc’s souring relations with the United States and said they were “expecting a lot from our trade negotiators”.
Deeper access to India’s rapidly expanding market was at the top of the delegation’s agenda, and the EU chief looked visibly pleased after her meeting with Modi and his ministers.
The EU is already India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 — more than 12 per cent of total Indian trade, according to Brussels. The Indian market offers many opportunities for sectors ranging from defence to agriculture, cars and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 per cent of EU trade in goods.
AFP
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