Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation bloc EU, the negotiations for which are at the last leg, will be the “mother of all deals” the country has signed so far.
The conclusion of talks for the agreement is likely to be announced on January 27.
The president of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be on a state visit to India from January 25-27. They are chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations.
“I have done seven deals so far. All with developed economies. This one will be the mother of all,” Goyal told mediapersons here.
“In sectors of India’s interest, we are getting a super deal. In areas of EU interest also, we are giving them a super deal. It has to be a win-win. The good part is we do not compete with each other. We have different interests,” he added.
The NDA government has finalised seven trade pacts since 2014: Australia, the UK, Oman, New Zealand, the UAE, the EFTA bloc and Mauritius.
Before that, several pacts were implemented, and that includes with 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian nations) bloc, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) and Singapore.
India’s pact with the EU will be the biggest, as the bloc comprises 27 developed countries. The EU bloc includes France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.
He also said the bilateral trade between the two sides was reasonably balanced in goods and services.
It will open huge opportunities for growth, Goyal said, adding that India and the European Union (EU) complement each other and were not in competition.
