India, EU truly mother of all deals; brings together nearly one-fourth of global economy: Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal

Nuremberg: The free trade agreement between India and the EU is 'truly a mother of all deals' as it brings together nearly one-fourth of the global economy, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Tuesday here.

He said that the two sides offer a lot of synergies, which is important in today's world, where people are facing a lot of turmoil and challenges in global trade.

"You represent an ageing population, we represent a young population. You represent goods, I represent demand. You represent technology, we represent the talent," he said here at the inauguration ceremony on the Biofach Show 2026.


Over 100 exhibitors from about 20 Indian states are showcasing organic products in the four-day show.

"These energies can actually come together, and that's what this FTA tries to do. I think we can not only try to make global value chains which are competitive across the world, which does serve both the Indian and the EU markets, but can also serve a large part of the world," Agrawal said.

India and the 27-nation bloc on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement.

"We will be signing and operationalising this agreement over the next year. This agreement, our leaders have called the mother of all deals. But it is not a political statement. It is because it's truly the mother of all deals, because this agreement brings together two large economies," he said.

It is bringing together one fourth of the world as a common market, as a free market, where goods can flow in, seamlessly, in and out, the secretary said.

"And not only this, I think we bring in the scale, because we are not talking of a 25 trillion economy only. We are talking of 2 billion people, a market with 2 billion people. That is again more than 25 per cent of the world," he said.

The EU, UK, and EFTA bloc together form a USD 30-billion free market with more than 2 billion people, and it is growing with "our aspirations", he added.

Agrawal said this pact offers a ray of hope to world trade.