India-EU trade talks at ‘historic juncture’

{ LEADERS CONFIRMED AS R-DAY GUESTS

- Rajeev Jayaswal

European Union leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa will be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations on January 26, with India and the EU racing to finalise a free trade agreement in time for announcement at the bilateral summit the next day, as negotiations have reached what officials describe as a “historic juncture”.

Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Thursday confirmed India is in the “last and the most arduous leg of negotiations” with the EU, with both sides working on a daily basis to resolve remaining issues and ready a draft of the proposed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) for the summit on January 27.

“Tm happy to report that we are very close now. We have closed 20 out of 24 chapters completely. ‘There are few issues which are still ongoing negotiations. We are virtually engaged on a day-to-day basis. We are trying to see if we can meet the timelines before our Leaders meet. That will be a good occasion,” Agrawal said.

The external affairs ministry and the EU on Thursday formally announced the participation of the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission at the Republic Day, though this had been publicly acknowledged by leaders of several EU states in recent days. The two sides are currently engaged in last-mile negotiations to give shape to the FTA set to be unveiled during the India-EU Summit.