Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Wednesday expressed confidence that the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be concluded soon and a balanced and mutually beneficial deal would be a win-win situation for both sides.
Harivansh said this during a meeting with a parliamentary delegation of the European Parliament’s International Trade Affairs (INTA) Committee, led by Cristina Maestre, INTA permanent rapporteur for India.
At the meeting, Harivansh said India and the European Union (EU) are two of the largest and most vibrant democracies, with open market economies and pluralistic societies. He observed that the trajectory of India-EU relations continues to grow. Both sides expressed confidence that the India-EU FTA will be concluded soon.
Harivansh expressed confidence that both sides share the vision of achieving a successful FTA that will further strengthen the trust-based partnership between them in today’s uncertain geopolitical context, a statement said.
Acknowledging the role of the European Parliament, particularly the INTA Committee, in ratifying trade agreements, he stressed that concluding a balanced and mutually beneficial FTA would be a win-win situation for India and the EU.
Highlighting strong economic ties, Harivansh noted that the EU is India’s largest trade and investment partner as well as a major source of technology. He highlighted that the EU, as a bloc, was India’s largest bilateral goods trading partner in the last financial year.
According to the statement issued by his office, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Speaker noted that a number of pathways mentioned in the new EU-India strategic agenda are already under discussion, including finalizing the India-EU FTA by the end of the year and entering into a security and defense partnership, which are expected to be major outcomes for the upcoming India-EU summit.
Referring to the joint communication announced by the EU in September, outlining a “new India-EU strategic agenda” to elevate the partnership, he termed it a very positive development.
Harivansh appreciated the ambition reflected in the EU Joint Communication and recognized its value in advancing the partnership, particularly in the areas of trade, technology, security, defence, innovation, climate, connectivity, mobility and global governance.
Welcoming the good dynamic of parliamentary exchanges, he recalled the visit of a multi-party parliamentary delegation to Brussels in June following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
He noted that the delegation had significant interactions with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Such regular parliamentary exchanges, he stressed, symbolize the strengthening of the India-EU partnership. The meeting took place at an important time when Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in Brussels for talks with his European counterparts, highlighting the shared commitment of both sides to advance the India-EU partnership.
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