(Correct the day of post X of von der Leyen on Thursday from Wednesday in paragraph 9)
New Delhi (Reuters) -Eu, Maros Sefcovic, will go to New Delhi next week, while talks on a planned free trade agreement, “the Indian Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
The report of advances in long -standing negotiations with Europe occurred a week after the entry into force of net hikes on American prices on Indian products.
Indian officials said that discussions with the EU were at an advanced stadium and that the next round – which should also take place next week – will be crucial to build a consensus for an agreement by the end of the year.
The three -day visit to Sefcovic, European Commerce Commissioner, will start on Thursday, TV News Channel India Today told TV.
“We have been negotiating with the European Union block in 27 countries for the past three and a half years and making rapid progress,” he added.
The talks for an India-UE free trade agreement stalled for eight years before resuming in 2021.
The EU has looked for steep service reductions in vehicles, medical devices, wine, spirits and dairy products, while India has better access for its textiles, pharmaceuticals, steel and petroleum products, officials said.
The EU is the largest trading partner in India in goods, bilateral trade reaching $ 137.5 billion during the year 2023/24, up almost 90% in the last decade.
Later Thursday, after a telephone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was determined to conclude negotiations by the end of the year.
“To achieve this, progress is necessary now,” she said on X.
Von der Leyen said that India had a key role in pressing Russia to end his war in Ukraine and that the EU and India aim to get along on a joint strategic program at a summit in 2026.
(Report by Manoj Kumar to New Delhi, writing by Hritam Mukherjee; edition by YP Rajesh and Andrew Heavens)
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