Last Updated: February 28, 2023, 17:07 IST
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (Image: PTI File)
Jaishankar additionally mentioned that Europe and India can strengthen one another’s strategic autonomy by lowering dependencies, cooperating on essential applied sciences.
India expects its proposed free commerce settlement with the European Union to be a “game-changer” and is looking forward to a mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process for the pact within a “short planned timeline”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar mentioned on Tuesday.
In an tackle at an occasion on the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Jaishankar additionally mentioned that Europe and India can strengthen one another’s strategic autonomy by lowering dependencies, cooperating on essential applied sciences and guaranteeing supply-chain restructuring.
“We anticipate the India-EU FTA shall be a game-changer for the India-EU relationship. We stay up for a mutually useful, mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation course of inside a fairly brief deliberate timeline,” he said.
In June last year, India and the European Union restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement after a gap of over eight years. Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both sides had major differences on crucial issues.
“India’s new approach to trade agreements addresses issues of non-tariff and behind-the-border barriers, quality standards and related benchmarks,” Jaishankar mentioned.
“With like-minded companions, we have now truly demonstrated lately a fast-track change in our FTA negotiation processes. FTAs with the UAE and Australia have been truly concluded in file time,” he said.
Behind-the-border barriers are non-tariff discriminatory trade barriers within a country.
“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,” Jaishankar mentioned.
The exterior affairs minister mentioned the not too long ago unveiled Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will present the construction and strategic steering to the partnership between the 2 sides.
The TTC is anticipated to facilitate change of essential applied sciences referring to an array of domains, together with synthetic intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and cyber safety.
The TTC with India is the European Union’s second such know-how partnership after the primary one with the United States that was firmed up in June 2021.
“I wish to say that India’s relations with Europe are stronger and deeper than ever earlier than and this occasion itself is an affidavit of that assertion,” Jaishankar said.
“Between us, rests the largest democratic and free market space globally. The business communities of India and Europe have a large stake and an enabling role in this transformation,” he mentioned.
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