India, EU aim to seal mega trade deal by year-end

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday threw their weight behind the ambitious goal of finalising an India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA) this year, in the backdrop of geoeconomic churn due to trade policies of US President Donald Trump's administration.

- Rezaul H. Laskar

The two leaders unveiled other measures to intensify cooperation, ranging from a proposed security and defence partnership and a new space dialogue to closer collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI) and the interoperability of digital public infrastructure.

Von der Leyen is in India with 22 members of the 27-strong EU College of Commissioners for the first such visit to a non-European nation since she got a fresh mandate last year, reflecting the desire in Brussels to substantially upgrade ties with New Delhi.

She arrived in India hours after Trump said he would hit goods made in the EU with 25% tariffs, exacerbating European concerns about Washington's unpredictable trade policies.

"We have directed our teams to conclude a mutually beneficial bilateral free trade agreement by the end of this year," Modi told a joint media interaction with Von der Leyen, speaking in Hindi.

Von der Leyen acknowledged the difficulties associated with finalising the trade deal. Negotiations for the FTA began in 2007, were suspended in 2013, and revived in 2022. The two sides will hold the tenth round of talks in Brussels during March 10-14.