MOTHER OF ALL DEALS

WHAT INDIA-EU FREE TRADE PACT CHANGES, WHY IT MATTERS

- BY JUSTIN VARGHESE Your Money Editor

After nearly two decades of negotiations, India and the European Union have concluded a free-trade agreement that reshapes one of the world's largest economic corridors.

Announced yesterday at the India-EU Summit, the pact links the world's fourthand second-largest economies in what leaders on both sides described as a strategic and commercial turning point. Together, India and the EU account for about 25 per cent of global GDP and roughly one-third of world trade.

"This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a virtual address. "It represents 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it "the mother of all deals," describing the pact as a choice by "two giants" to pursue cooperation at a moment of deep global disruption.