India, EU make good progress in FTA, investment, GI pact talks: Govt

India and the European Union have made good progress in the ongoing three negotiations- India-EU Free Trade Agreement; a standalone Investment Protection Agreement; and a Geographical Indications Agreement, the government said Saturday.

The commerce and industry ministry said in a statement that the two sides discussed their market access issues and review the progress made so far under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council.

Commerce and industry Piyush Goyal met the European Commission Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis for the third High Level Dialogue.


“Minister Goyal and I held a positive and thorough discussion on advancing our Free Trade Agreement during our High-Level Economic Dialogue today,” Dombrovskis said, adding that both sides would benefit enormously from a comprehensive trade and investment partnership.

He said: “We need to see good progress in terms of investment protection - important to attract further European investment to India”.

The EU is India’s second largest trading partner but there is still a lot of untapped potential, Dombrovskis said, adding that there is a clear political willingness on both sides to change gear and make faster progress.

“We must now use this momentum to bridge major gaps that remain,” he said, adding that the two committed to important outcomes, including reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The upcoming WTO ministerial conference matters were also briefly discussed during the meeting