‘Very high’ expectations from India-EU FTA, says Rotterdam port chief

The Port of Rotterdam’s Chief Executive Officer Boudewijn Siemons said he had “very high” expectations of the India-EU free trade agreement, adding that Europe was looking forward to doing more business with India, PTI reported on Sunday.

He said ports and countries must work together in a global economy, adding that these were among the topics he discussed with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who visited the port on Sunday.

"... making sure that the goods can flow more easily between India and Europe is something that we will be working on," he told reporters here at the port, as per PTI.


On his expectations from the free trade pact, he said: "I have very high expectations from the FTA, and I think with the developments in India going on, the potential is huge. And I think Europe is really looking forward to doing more and more business with India".

India and the 27-nation European Union in January announced that negotiations for the pact had concluded and the deal is expected to be signed by the end of this year and may be implemented next year.