Brussels, 20 January 2025
Over the weekend, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Šefčovič received in Brussels a delegation led by Minister for Commerce and Industry of India Piyush Goyal. As part of the EU-India High Level Trade and Investment Dialogue, the two sides took stock at political level of progress in the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, notably on core issues of economic interest to both partners. The two sides agreed to aim for a win-win outcome that supports the two economies in developing reliable clean tech supply chains fit for decades to come.
Commissioner Šefčovič said: “The EU-India partnership is an important one – for today as well as for the years to come – and therefore, we share the objective to take it to the next level. We have therefore dedicated the past two days to discussing the best way forward for our trade and investment to reach new heights. Our teams now have the necessary steer to keep up the pace in our talks.”
The second EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) plenary meeting, expected to be scheduled soon, was also discussed, taking stock of how work is advancing in the different strands.
In the margins of the High-Level Dialogue, Commissioner Šefčovič also hosted a trilateral meeting with Minister Goyal and Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. They exchanged views on ways to ensure that the multilateral trading system is made fit for purpose for the 21st century.
India is a strategic partner for the EU, and the Commission is committed to developing the EU-India Strategic Agenda, while engaging in advancing negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA (resumed in 2021), together with the negotiations for an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications.