Irish Ambassador ‘hopeful’ about India-EU FTA

New Delhi (India) December 5 (ANI): Irish Ambassador Kevin Kelly remains “optimistic” about a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union, saying the meeting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February was “very positive”.
Speaking to ANI, Kevin Kelly said: “We are all really hopeful that we will reach this agreement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and all members of the College of Commissioners visited India earlier this year.
A 40-member European Union negotiating team arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, marking the most intensive phase of talks on the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU, the initial aim of which was to conclude it by the end of this year.
Negotiations on an India-EU FTA were relaunched in 2022.

Furthermore, the Irish Ambassador expressed concern over recent incidents of violence against Indians living in Ireland. He said it was a “horrible time” and hoped “it won’t happen again”.
“Last summer it just ended, so the start of the summer was a horrible, horrible time for the Indian community in Ireland because there was a series of incidents and attacks targeting Indian citizens or citizens of different countries. And that caused a huge upheaval in Ireland,” he said.
“Of course it was a terrifying time for the Indian community, but also for the Irish community, because that’s not who we are. We still pride ourselves on being a very welcoming country, a safe country… The police have set up a special liaison group to support the Indian community and maintain dialogue with the Indian embassy in Dublin and some arrests have taken place. But we hope this won’t happen again,” he added.
In July and August, several cases of violence against Indian nationals were reported.
On August 1, the Indian Embassy in Ireland advised all citizens to take precautions and be aware of their surroundings for their personal safety following physical attacks on Indians. (ANI)