New Delhi, Sep 3 (UNI) Germany has assured India that it will put its weight behind the India-EU FTA negotiations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said today, after talks with his visiting German counterpart Johann Wadephul here.
“The German Foreign Minister has assured us that he would put his full weight behind the FTA negotiations with the EU,” EAM Jaishankar said at a media interaction following their talks here today.
“I share the minister’s desire and optimism that we would like the FTA negotiations to move to a decisive conclusion in the coming days. And believe it will help stabilise the global economy; it will act like one of the ballasts that the world economy needs,” EAM Jaishankar said.
In a tweet, the EAM said: “Appreciate Germany’s strong advocacy for closer India-EU ties and proactive push in concluding the FTA.”
The German Foreign Minister, who arrived yesterday on a three-day visit, said “India equals Asia for us, and Germany and EU are critical for India.”
The statements come as union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is quoted as saying that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European union have reached an advanced stage.
“We have reached a very advanced stage in our FTA with the European Union. The Commerce Secretary is in Brussels with his counterpart, the DG of the EU. Their team is coming down later this week and will be in active negotiation with us. and we are making very active and significant progress,” Goyal said yesterday.
The India-EU FTA is aimed to be concluded by the end of this year. The European union is one of the world’s largest trading blocs and the FTA is expected to reduce trade barriers, enhance market access, and create new opportunities for businesses.
In 2023-34 the EU was India’s largest trading partner for goods, at $137.41 billion. The bilateral trade in services was $51.45 billion.
