India, EU working towards commercially meaningful trade agreement

Negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU) are moving on the right track and both sides are making "solid" headway towards a balanced and mutually beneficial deal. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is in Brussels to discuss progress of this trade agreement with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic. Addressing media in Brussels, Sefcovic said that the European Union "deeply" values its partnership with India, and it is committed to take it to the next level by securing a commercially meaningful agreement, which opens up the markets for both goods and services. Goyal too said that teams of India and the 27-nation bloc had a laborious day negotiating the pact. "We reaffirmed our shared commitment to conclude negotiations by the end of 2025...I think this has been a very, very productive engagement which reflects the strategic importance both sides attached to a modern, balanced and future oriented free trade agreement," he said.  He added that India sees this partnership as essential to boosting economic resilience and fostering inclusive and sustainable growth in both regions.

Redefining the India–EU Partnership

In my highly productive dialogue with EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security @MarosSefcovic today, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to concluding the India–EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations by the end of 2025.

As we… pic.twitter.com/YtEf27ydh0

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 1, 2025

The momentum that this negotiation has gained and the progress the two sides have made is excellent. Officials of both sides are meeting for the next round of talks from May 12-16 here to follow up on the productive discussions.

(Business Correspondent)