S. Jaishankar met the EU Trade Commissioner in Delhi as renewed talks on the crucial India-EU Free Trade Agreement commenced.
Resumption of Negotiations
The two-day round of discussions on the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement began on Monday, following the meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Commissioner Šefčovič.
The negotiations, which restarted in June 2022 after a lengthy hiatus, signify a strong effort to deepen economic ties between India and the European Union.
“FTA Negotiation 2.0”
Hervé Delphin, the EU Ambassador to India, recently characterised the current discussions as “EU-India FTA negotiation 2.0,” emphasising a new strategy compared to the previous efforts a decade ago. He emphasised that the two partners now increasingly appreciate their mutual requirement and advantageous symmetry.
The Ambassador stressed that rising global trade tensions and “tariff wars” have increased the urgency for establishing a predictable, rules-based trade framework between the partners.
Economic and Strategic Significance
Delphin underlined the considerable global weight of the two entities, noting that the EU and India together represent 25 per cent of global GDP and 25 per cent of the world’s population.
He asserted that establishing an FTA will be mutually beneficial, helping both sides in “de-risking this very fraught environment of the world economy” and ensuring long-term gains in trade, jobs, and investment. He firmly stated that the EU’s history of FTAs consistently delivers a “win-win” scenario.
Continuous Negotiating Mode
The EU Ambassador confirmed that there is a strong political commitment to conclude the FTA negotiations by the year-end. Crucially, both sides have abandoned the traditional, formal round-based approach in favour of a “continuous negotiating mode,” indicating a determination to finalise the agreement swiftly.
A team of approximately 40 European negotiators arrived in Delhi to facilitate these ongoing talks.
SOURCE – ANI
