Brussels: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal concluded a two-day visit to Brussels, engaging in intensive discussions to accelerate the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The meetings, held on January 8–9, included a high-level dialogue with EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič.
Both sides reviewed progress across key negotiating tracks and directed their teams to resolve pending issues, signalling strong political commitment to finalising a comprehensive agreement after months of technical talks.
Goyal’s visit followed senior-level meetings between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Sabine Weyand, Director-General for Trade at the European Commission, on January 6–7. Those discussions focused on narrowing gaps and clarifying outstanding points ahead of ministerial-level engagement.
During the talks, Goyal and Šefčovič deliberated on major pillars of the proposed deal, including market access for goods, rules of origin, and services. Both sides noted steady progress and reaffirmed their commitment to a fair, balanced, and ambitious agreement aligned with shared economic priorities and a rules-based trading system.
At the conclusion of the visit, India and the EU expressed confidence in moving toward an early conclusion of a modern, mutually beneficial FTA, which is expected to strengthen strategic economic cooperation between the two partners.
