free trade agreement
Negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and European Union (EU) are going to be completed on 27 January. In a big summit to be held in the capital, both the sides will formally announce the completion of negotiations on this agreement. Along with this, there is also a possibility of signing of security and defense partnership agreement between India and EU, which will further strengthen the relationship between the two.
EU military contingent will participate in the Republic Day parade
The special thing is that for the first time a small military contingent of the European Union will also participate in the Republic Day Parade on 26 January. The top leader of EU will be the chief guest of Republic Day this time. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be on a visit to India from January 25 to 27.
According to the information, the FTA will be signed after a few months, when the legal processes are completed and approval is received from the EU Parliament. India-EU Business Forum will also be organized after the summit on 27 January. During this time, a joint statement and joint strategic agenda will also be issued, which will outline how to advance security and defense cooperation. Apart from this, both sides may also express their intention to start negotiations on a separate agreement related to information security, which can be completed by 2026.
This agreement will be the mother of all deals
The EU also wants to finalize defense procurement arrangements with India’s defense industry. Negotiations on the India-EU trade agreement were restarted in 2022 and are now in the final stages. Recently, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had said that India-EU FTA can prove to be the mother of all deals among all the agreements signed so far.