Brussels to host second round trade negotiations in Sept 2022
India and the European Union concluded the first round of negotiations for Trade and Investment Agreements in New Delhi on 2 July 2022 with the aim of boosting bilateral trade of US$116.36 billion in 2021-22, up 43.5%/year despite the global disruptions.
The second round of negotiations for the India-EU Trade and Investment Agreements including the Geographical Indicators (GI) is scheduled to take place in September 2022 at Brussels.
Currently EU is India’s second largest trading partner after the US, and the second largest destination for Indian exports.
The trade agreement with EU would help India in further expanding and diversifying its exports of goods and services, including securing the value chains, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a release.
Both sides are aiming for the trade negotiations to be broad-based, balanced and comprehensive, based on the principles of fairness and reciprocity.
The negotiations were launched by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and European Commission’s Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis at Brussels last month.
India’s FTA negotiations were led by Chief Negotiator Nidhi Mani Tripathi, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, and EU was represented by its Chief Negotiator Christophe Kiener.
The week-long negotiations were held in a hybrid fashion, with some of the teams meeting in Delhi and the majority of officials joining virtually.
Fifty-two technical Sessions covering 18 policy areas of FTA and 7 Sessions on Investment Protection and GIs were held during the first round. fiinews.com
