Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is traveling to Brussels today, October 27, to bring new momentum to the much-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union (EU).
The Commerce Ministry announced in a statement on Sunday that during this two-day visit, Goyal will meet with European Union Trade Commissioner and Executive Vice President Maros Sefcovic.
The main focus of the discussions will be to accelerate the long-standing negotiations from political and strategic perspectives, so that a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement can be completed within the stipulated timeframe.
The Commerce Ministry's statement said, 'This visit is taking place at a very crucial stage of the India-EU free trade agreement negotiations. Both sides want to reach a comprehensive and balanced agreement.' The discussions are expected to cover multiple key issues in detail, including market access opportunities, non-tariff barriers besides customs duties, policy cooperation, and coordination of regulatory systems. At the same time, the progress of negotiations held so far will be reviewed and ways to reach consensus on issues where agreement has not yet been possible will be explored.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal has already met with European Commission Trade Director General Sabine Weyand in Brussels. Both sides are quite keen to conclude the negotiations by December, says an Ei Samay Online report.
