Vinay Kumar
NEW DELHI: PM Modi on Monday affirmed New Delhi’s support for completing talks for a free trade agreement with the European Union by the year-end and asserted that the proposed India Middle-East Europe Economic Corridor, delayed due to tensions in West Asia, would contribute towards peace and prosperity in the region.“Last month, there was an agreement between India and the UK on an ambitious FTA. Now, we are committed to completing an FTA between India and the EU by the end of the year. Talks have picked up pace. Its benefits will be available to all of you,” PM Modi said in a meeting with CEOs in Cyprus during his visit to the nation.PM Modi & Cyprus President hope India-EU deal will be sealed by December Cyprus is due to assume the presidency of the European Union Council next year. During a meeting with business leaders, PM Modi and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides backed the proposed trade deal. “They expressed optimism about concluding the India-EU free trade agreement by the end of the year, which would also give a major boost to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry of external affairs said in a statement.In recent months, talks with the EU, which have been underway for nearly two decades, have gathered pace and the next round of negotiations are scheduled from July 7. “There are some tracks, we are working together on this. Momentum has picked up in the talks and the frequency of meetings has gone up. Earlier negotiating rounds were held every quarter, but now we have reduced the time period between rounds,” India’s chief negotiator L Satya Srinivas said.The trade deal with the EU is proposed to cover 23 chapters, including gender and sustainability, and the two sides are now looking at a comprehensive deal by December instead of an early tranche by July.“We have a large number of issues on which we are trying to find a convergence so that we move towards the closure of the agreement,” chief negotiator Srinivas said.On the India-UK trade pact, he said the agreement was getting ready to be signed.
