Speaking at the Indo-Italian Business Forum in Mumbai on the negotiations, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that while some issues remain to be resolved, he is confident in the political will of both sides.
Hoping to soon see EU wines and automobiles in the Indian market and Indian leather goods, auto components, textiles and whiskeys in the EU market, he said no stone was left unturned for a fair, equitable and balanced India-EU FTA.
Calling for protecting the sensitivities of both sides, he said negotiations should always take place with a sense of urgency but never in haste, adding that there are many areas of discussion but there is no point of divergence.
Stating that work is underway to bridge the gaps towards a win-win solution for India and the EU, he stressed that any agreement will have to be 100% win-win for both sides to ensure a good future for trade and investments.
Goyal held talks with the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, in New Delhi on December 8 and 9, aiming to provide strategic direction to their negotiating teams. The visit took place in the backdrop of technical discussions held from December 3-9 in New Delhi on key chapters of the draft FTA covering market access for goods, rules of origin, services, technical barriers to trade, trade and sustainable development, etc.
The visit of the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security was preceded by high-level discussions between the Secretary of Commerce and the Director-General of Trade of the European Commission in New Delhi on December 7, underscoring the shared commitment to intensify dialogue and collaboration, with a focus on progressing the negotiations towards a timely and mutually beneficial conclusion. During their engagement, Goyal and Šefčovič held in-depth deliberations on key areas of the proposed agreement, took note of the steady progress made in the different negotiating tracks and agreed on the need to maintain the current momentum through continued exchanges.
At the event in Mumbai today, Goyal signed the Indo-Italian Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) protocol with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani to strengthen mutual economic partnership. The event also saw the signing of industrial agreements in various sectors between the two parties. Calling for an Indo-Italian working group on waste-to-energy to capitalize on India’s enormous potential, Goyal argued for a framework through the global climate initiative to save waste to energy. He highlighted plans to work expeditiously on the IMEC corridor and engage more with countries that are part of it, adding that customs facilitation, such as between India and the UAE, can be a starting point between India and Italy for smoother movement of goods.
While the Indian minister called for mutual recognition agreements to avoid cumbersome procedures for companies, a start-up bridge between India and Italy and collaboration in the automobile, renewable energy, textile, agri-food and agrotechnology sectors; The Italian Deputy Prime Minister indicated that Italian banks could increase their presence in India.
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