New Delhi (India), November 7 (ANI): India and the European Union (EU) made significant progress in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations during a week-long series of discussions held in the national capital, an official statement said on Friday.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the negotiations took place from November 3 to 7, with a team of high-level EU negotiators visiting India to work with their Indian counterparts to advance a comprehensive, balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement.
The deliberations covered key chapters including goods, services, investment, trade, sustainable development, rules of origin and technical barriers to trade.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal held detailed meetings with Sabine Weyand, Director-General for Trade of the European Commission, from November 5 to 6, to review progress and resolve outstanding issues throughout the negotiations.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the substantial progress made, while agreeing to accelerate efforts to achieve a balanced trade outcome.
Agrawal reaffirmed India’s commitment to a trade deal that promotes economic growth and development and highlighted the need for clarity and predictability regarding new EU regulatory measures, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and proposed steel regulations.
“The Commerce Secretary reaffirmed India’s commitment to achieving an outcome that promotes economic growth and development while ensuring a fair and balanced distribution of benefits. He also highlighted the need for clarity and predictability in the implementation of new EU regulatory measures, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the proposed new steel regulations,” the statement said.
The discussions helped narrow differences and reach common agreement on several issues. Both sides underlined the importance of continued engagement at the technical level in the coming weeks to bridge the remaining differences and finalize the India-EU FTA at the earliest.
“Both sides noted with satisfaction the substantial progress made in several areas of negotiations and agreed to maintain the positive momentum. The discussions helped narrow the differences and common agreement was reached on many issues. The importance of continued engagement at the technical level in the coming weeks was emphasized to bridge the remaining differences and work towards the common goal of concluding the India-EU FTA negotiations at the earliest,” it added.
The negotiations highlight India and the EU’s strong commitment to deepening their economic partnership and concluding an ambitious, forward-looking trade agreement that promotes resilient, sustainable and inclusive growth. (ANI)
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