Now, for an investment protection guarantee

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have correctly declined to acknowledge US president Donald Trump’s claims of ending war between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

- KANIKA DATTA

He may, however, have the maverick leader to thank for concluding the “mother of all free trade agreements” between India and the European Union (EU). This free trade agreement (FTA) opens European markets to Indian exports and Indian professionals and students in such a capacious manner that you wonder why it took two decades of shadowboxing for the deal — it has a way to go before becoming a formal agreement — to be inked.

MrTrump undoubtedly concentrated minds among vacillators on both sides of the Suez. Had he not virtually repudiated his nation’s commitment to Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) with his ambitions for Greenland at Davos, Brussels may not have suddenly understood the merits of aligning with a middle power that also faces exclusion from the American market for mostly spurious reasons. Though, as commentators have pointed out, the deal can hardly be considered a handy substitute for an India-US FTA, it does, together with the defence and stability pact, offer good news in terms of geopolitical signalling and market access. The bloc remains India’s largest trading partner for goods and one in which the country enjoys a trade surplus.