New Delhi: The India-EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to be a game-changer for the relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, adding that New Delhi looks forward to a mutually beneficial and mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiations within a reasonably short planned timeline.
Addressing the inaugural session of the CII India-Europe Business & Sustainability Conclave here, said the FTA with EU is a very important goal for both sides and that the Indian government has invested a lot of resources and attention in recent years on the partnership with EU.
The Foreign Minister of Czech Republic Jan Lipavský, and that of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen were present at the talk.
EAM said that visits and exchanges at the highest level are today a regular feature between India and Europe, including at the Prime Minister’s level. Jaishankar said that he has himself personally interacted with the Foreign Ministers of all the 27 EU Member States and the High Representative of the European Commission at least once last year. He has also met some of them multiple times, and these interactions have contributed to the resumption of the India-EU FTA negotiations, the India-EU Trade and Technology Council, which is called the TTC, dialogues in the areas of security and defense, and human rights, and also a jump in bilateral trade.
The two sides recently announced three Working Groups within the India-EU TTC for strategic cooperation in Trade, cooperation in Green Transition and cooperation in Digital Partnership. He said the three imperatives will sustain the bilateral business relations, as well as the overarching partnership between India and large parts of Europe and also the sustainability of the planet.
On trade, he said that EU is one of India’s largest and most important trade partners, with the bilateral trade in excess of US$ 115 billion in the 2021-22, which is the highest ever. “We expect the India-EU FTA will be a game-changer for the India-EU relationship. We look forward to a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process within a reasonably short planned timeline,” he added.
He said that with like-minded partners, India has demonstrated in recent years a fast-track change in the FTA negotiation processes, and cited those with the UAE and Australia- which were concluded in record time.
“India’s large and growing middle-class population makes it obviously a preferred investment destination as well as a lucrative market for our trade partners. India is expected to be the only major economy to keep growing at well above 6% per annum in the foreseeable future, and thus will remain one of the major growth engines of the world,” he added.
He said clean energy and green transition are central to the India-EU Connectivity Partnership, and synergies have emerged in solar and wind energy, in green hydrogen, smart grids, sustainable urban transport (especially metro projects), waste management and the circular economy.
“But, to sustain this cooperation, the real ask is capacity building, clean technology transfer, alignment of standards and cooperation in critical materials. And here, let me say upfront that promoting green financing is the ignition for any long-term result-oriented outcome,” the EAM added.
In the area of Green Hydrogen, there have already been collaborations between many major European firms and Indian companies, he said, adding that electric vehicles will be the next big thing for a green transition of India’s urban landscape.
EAM said that Digital Connectivity is vital to the India-EU Connectivity Partnership, and can include knowledge exchanges and capacity building in AI, quantum and high-performance computing, 5G/6G, semiconductors, cyber security and digital platforms. “Europe, I want to emphasize, is a natural partner in these areas,” he added.
“Let me say a few words on the future of India and the EU partnership. It is a subject on which you can see that the government has invested a lot of resources and attention in recent years. And I share the hopes of Minister Rasmussen and Minister Lipavský that we will see much more progress in the days ahead,” he added.
He said that in the last nine years, “PM Modi has undertaken several structural economic reforms, some of which were clearly politically counter intuitive. Nudging the informal economy to the organized sector, cleansing the financial system, rationalizing taxation, incentivizing production, doubling down on infrastructure and logistics, digitizing the government’s interface with its citizens and ushering in an ambitious energy transition, each one of this was part of the policy mix which is today paying off. And that, mind you, is still just the beginning!”
“We want our friends in Europe to appreciate that this momentum, and its compounding strength, will take us towards becoming a developed society by 2047, and along with that will grow the accompanying business opportunities. India’s economic comeback and credentials are matched by our geopolitical weight, deriving from a strategic location in the Indo-Pacific region and an increasing defense and first responder capability.”
“Europe and India can strengthen each other’s strategic autonomy by reducing dependencies; cooperating on critical technologies; and ensuring supply-chain restructuring. The India-EU FTA is therefore our very important goal. And the TTC will provide the structure and strategic guidance to this partnership as it moves forward,” he added.
