Over 6,000 European companies operates in India
Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the relaunch of India-EU will open up new areas of cooperations for both sides, bilateral trade having risen 72% in the last decade and investments doubled.
He pointed out that India and EU will be negotiating separate agreements on Investment Protection and Geographical Indicators. The India-EU FTA talks were suspended in 2013.
The two sides would strive for early conclusion of the Trade and Investment Protection as it would be pursued on parallel track.
The Portuguese Prime Minister was addressing the India – EU Business Roundtable which was organised on a virtual platform by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with BusinessEurope and CIP – Confederation of Portuguese Business on 9 May 2021.
He stated that given the growing strategic partnership between India and the EU, it was the right time to pursue these agreements.
Over 6,000 European companies currently operate in India creating more than 1.7 million direct and 5 million indirect jobs. He stated that given the growing strategic partnership between India and the EU, it was the right time to pursue these agreements.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has underlined the commitment by India and the European Union to work towards a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement and a separate investment protection agreement.
“Both these agreements are going to lift our economic relationship to another level with enhanced bilateral flow of trade, investments, job creation, technology transfers and innovations,” stressed Goyal.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, highlighted that India and the EU had a Strategic Partnership and in furtherance of that partnership, but the India – EU FTA negotiations will not be easy. Yet, he was hopeful that the two sides could build on the headway made in the past.
CII President-Designate T V Narendran added that there were immense opportunities for partnerships to co-develop and test new technologies in areas like Data Protection and Cyber Security, Digital infrastructure, 5G, Smart Factories, Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, Blockchain, IoT.
He was of the view that India and the EU could also work on common and mutually acceptable standards related to cybersecurity, for example. “The Indian industry considers the EU among India’s most important partners and we are ready to work together for our common progress and prosperity.”
BusinessEurope President Pierre Gattaz stated that there was a strong commitment from business and political leaders to take the India – EU relationship a step further, by concretely promoting further cooperation in areas such as climate change, healthcare and digital connectivity.
CIP President António Saraiva stated that Europe and India need to work together to face the challenges of today and to build a brighter common future.
“Today, at the EU-India Business Roundtable, we are bringing together the European and Indian representatives of the private sector, with the aim of boosting economic relations and building a platform of cooperation and business opportunities between our entrepreneurs.
“We have set an ambitious agenda and we wish not only to bring our businessman closer together, but to shape the EU-India Economic agenda in its many topics, so that companies can become important drivers for a successful rapprochement between the two economic blocks. We believe the MoU we have signed today with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will contribute to untap the potential of present economic bilateral relations between Portugal and India.”
The EU-India Business Roundtable took place virtually to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of climate, digital and healthcare and to support increased trade and investment. The business roundtable was organised in the margins of the EU-India Summit in Porto, Portugal, and with the support of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Business strongly welcomed the step of Heads of State and Government to revive trade negotiations. A comprehensive trade and investment agreement would help in further deepening EU-India bilateral trade and investment ties.
BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said, “the relaunch of the FTA negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is an essential step forward for both our economies. India and the EU will both profit from strengthening bilateral cooperation in the areas of climate, digital and healthcare, and from increased trade and investment.
“The EU is India’s largest trading partner with about 11 percent of its total trade, worth around €80 billion, and the EU is India’s top foreign investor.”
Both sides should use this window of opportunity, based on our shared values, commitment to rules-based multilateralism, and benefit from mutual economic opportunities.”
Confederation of Indian Industry Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, assures that the Indian industry, on its part, welcomes the announcement of resumption of formal negotiations on the India-EU trade deal at the India – EU Summit, and is ready to support the negotiations in any way possible.
“A pact on trade should benefit the EU with better access to a huge and rapidly growing market as well as help India access technology which could qualitatively upgrade the Indian economy.”
On the occasion of the Summit an MoU between Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was signed in order to promote bilateral trade and closer cooperation between the India and Portugal. #investment #trade #economy #exports #manufacturing /fiinews.com
