NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (PTI): India expects its proposed free trade agreement with the European Union to be a “game-changer” and is looking forward to a mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process for the pact within a “short planned timeline”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
In an address at an event of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Jaishankar also said that Europe and India can strengthen each other’s strategic autonomy by reducing dependencies, cooperating on critical technologies and ensuring supply-chain restructuring.
The external affairs minister also said that capacity building would be key to sustain India-Europe cooperation.
Related Posts:
“We expect the India-EU FTA will be a game-changer for the India-EU relationship. We look forward to a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous conclusion to the negotiation process within a reasonably short planned timeline,” he said.
Jaishankar said India is expected to be the only major economy to keep growing at well above six per cent per annum in the foreseeable future, and thus, will remain one of the major growth engines of the world.
In June last year, India and the European Union restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement after a gap of over eight years.
Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both sides had major differences on crucial issues.
“India’s new approach to trade agreements addresses issues of non-tariff and behind-the-border barriers, quality standards and related benchmarks,” Jaishankar said at the India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave.
“With like-minded partners, we have actually demonstrated in recent years a fast-track change in our FTA negotiation processes. FTAs with the UAE and Australia were actually concluded in record time,” he said.
Behind-the-border barriers are non-tariff discriminatory trade barriers within a country.
“Europe and India can strengthen each other’s strategic autonomy by reducing dependencies; cooperating on critical technologies; and ensuring supply-chain restructuring. The India-EU FTA is therefore our very important goal,” Jaishankar said.
The external affairs minister said the recently unveiled Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will provide the structure and strategic guidance to the partnership between the two sides.
The TTC is expected to facilitate exchange of critical technologies relating to an array of domains, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and cybersecurity.
The TTC with India is the European Union’s second such technology partnership after the first one with the United States that was firmed up in June 2021.
“I would like to say that India’s relations with Europe are stronger and deeper than ever before and this event itself is a testimony of that assertion,” Jaishankar said.
“Between us, rests the largest democratic and free market space globally. The business communities of India and Europe have a large stake and an enabling role in this transformation,” he said.
Jaishankar said the EU is one of India’s largest and most important trade partners.
“Our bilateral trade was in excess of USD 115 billion in the FY 2021-22, which is the highest ever. With the UK and other non-EU countries added, I believe that the number is even greater,” he said.
The external affairs minister said that India’s large and growing middle-class population makes it obviously a preferred investment destination as well as a lucrative market for its trade partners.
“When it comes to the green transition, clean energy and green transition are central to the India-EU Connectivity Partnership. Synergies have emerged in solar and wind energy, in green hydrogen, smart grids, sustainable urban transport, waste management and the circular economy,” he said.
“But, to sustain this cooperation, the real ask is capacity building, clean technology transfer, alignment of standards and cooperation in critical materials. And here, let me say upfront that promoting green financing is the ignition for any long-term result-oriented outcome,” he added.
Jaishankar said India is today one of the leading countries in climate change mitigation commitments and environmental protection.
“Our low-carbon development strategy lays out the path to a carbon-neutral economy while taking into account specific development goals. We have the third biggest installed renewable energy capacity in the world,” he said.
“Without stressing on our ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions at the UNFCCC, let me say that we will reach our goals even earlier,” he said.
Looking ahead, he noted, India’s ambitious green hydrogen policy incentivises an indigenous ecosystem for local needs and exports.
Jaishankar said electric vehicles will be the next big thing for a green transition of India’s urban landscape.
“Green transition is also the core of our sustainability goals and it is enshrined in our agenda for the G20 presidency,” he said.
Speaking about digital transformation, Jaishankar said 41 per cent of the world’s transactions actually happened in India last year.
“India today can boast of more than a 100 unicorns, many of them in the tech sector. But, our digital success story goes beyond its tech unicorns; it touches the common person. We have pioneered digital public goods on a scale previously unimaginable,” he said.
“Our innovative digital solutions for identification and banking (Aadhar) and digital transactions (UPI) are unprecedented in reducing transaction costs and turning digital and financial inclusivity into a reality, almost overnight for hundreds of millions of our citizens,” he said.
“Our indigenous development of 5G and digital commerce will surely empower our citizens even further,” Jaishankar said.
Foreign minister of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that the Green Strategic Partnership between India and Europe is an important example for “all to follow”.
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský stated that his country could contribute to India’s post pandemic recovery along with other Indo-Pacific countries, particularly in the areas of healthcare services, pharmaceuticals and telemedicine.
Energy transition will be a key pillar of the partnership, Lipavský emphasised.
