“If there were no sensitive problems, we could have concluded this agreement 18 years ago. Obviously, there are problems and we are working to solve these problems,” said Goyal at the joint press conference with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani.
Italy is a member of the EU block in 27 countries.
The two parties concluded the 10th round of negotiations in Brussels last month for the proposed agreement. The next series of talks should take place here in May.
In June 2022, India and the EU block in 27 countries resumed negotiations after a gap of more than eight years. He stalled in 2013 due to differences on the market opening level.
On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the president of the European Commission agreed to seal a highly anticipated free trade agreement by this year. Tajani, who is also the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that “we are pushing hard in Brussels (EU headquarters) to achieve this important objective” to sign the agreement soon. He also said that huge commercial and investment opportunities are there for companies of both parties.
He added that Italian companies are ready for joint ventures with Indian companies in Africa.
“Space (sector) is a future. It is its own industry,” he said while stating the areas of cooperation.
Speaking of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), the Italian minister said that it was a link between India and Italy through the Gulf and that this will help strengthen trade.
Meanwhile, Goyal met Tajani here to discuss the strengthening of bilateral trade and investment links.
Indian-Italian trade has been estimated at around 15 billion USD in 2023-2024, while Italy’s foreign direct investments in India have been around $ 4 billion since 2000.
The leaders also discussed the progress of the EU-India FTA negotiations and stressed the importance of prioritizing trade problems to rationalize negotiations and offer a commercially significant set to create resilient value chains to ensure business stability against emerging risks.
Sectors such as pharmacy, textiles, technological collaboration, gems and jewelry, construction of ships, energy transition and agri-tech and food processing have been highlighted as key areas of collaboration between the two countries.
“Italy has recognized the need to engage with India as a strategic partner to diversify its trade relations. The commercial obstacles faced by exporters and investors have also been discussed, both parties being accepting to resolve these questions by continuous dialogue,” said the Ministry of Commerce in a statement.
It has been agreed that the next meeting of the Mixed Committee for Economic Cooperation would take place in Italy at a mutually practical time, accompanied by a high -level commercial delegation to advance bilateral trade, improve market access and promote investments.
Goyal said the key areas where both parties can improve cooperation include fashion, tourism, luxury products, pharmacy, agricultural technology, manufacturing and electric vehicles.
About The Author
