The continuing negotiations for a free trade deal between India and the European Union have been discussed by the trade ministers of France and India, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday.
Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry, was in attendance at the CEO roundtable and the India-France Business Conference. He met privately with a number of CEOs as well as Olivier Becht, the French minister for foreign trade, economic attractiveness, and French nationals abroad.
According to the statement, “the ministers deliberated on problems linked to market access in the context of priority sectors relevant to India-EU FTA (free trade agreement) discussions.”
Goyal also said that there is a significant potential for India to manufacture commercial aircraft to suit both home and foreign demand, since the country plans to purchase 2,000 commercial aircraft over the next ten years.
Further value has been added to this collaboration with the acquisition of the Rafale and the most recent Airbus contract, he said.
India and the EU reopened talks for a free trade agreement, investment protections, and Geographical Indications in January of last year (GI).
Becht said that bilateral commerce reached $15.1 billion in 2021–22, doubling in value over the previous ten years, and that France, the largest foreign investor in India, contributed $10 billion of the $15.1 billion in FDI.
He continued by saying that French businesses are willing to invest in India.
Goyal emphasised that commerce may be made to grow even more by removing linguistic obstacles. On the eve of the G20 Trade Ministers meeting in August 2023, he also extended an invitation to the French minister and the French community to visit India.
On April 11, Goyal also spoke at a CEO roundtable gathering.
The roundtable included participation from more than 50 CEOs of French and French-based enterprises. During the meeting, there were representatives from the agricultural, tourism, manufacturing, defence, pharmaceutical, textile, and aerospace industries.
Together with the two ministers, Jawed Ashraf, Vice-President of CII and Chairman & Managing Director of ITC, Sanjiv Puri, Faith Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone, all gave their thoughts.