Nirmala Sitharaman discusses bilateral financial issues with EU trade commissioner

On Saturday, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union’s minister of finance, met with Valdis Dombrovskis, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, to address bilateral and financial problems of mutual concern. According to the Ministry of Finance, the two leaders met in New Delhi and discussed the ongoing consultations for the India-EU Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Along with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the EU Trade Commissioner co-chaired the EU-India High-Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment on Saturday in Delhi. The resumption of negotiations for an FTA between the EU and India last year was a significant development in trade ties. Before the meeting with the Union’s minister of finance, The EU Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stated during a press conference that although the FTA negotiations have advanced, there are still significant obstacles to overcome. He said, “The discussions on the Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union (EU) have made “progress but a lot of work is still ahead of us”, said on Saturday, adding that the ties between the two sides have a lot of untapped potential”. During a news conference conducted in India, Dombrovskis highlighted the relationship’s unrealized potential and said, “India and the EU are key partners. Fundamental beliefs and pursuits are shared by us. He also emphasised that the second-largest partner of India is the EU. Dombrovskis emphasised the growing significance of trust and credibility in international interactions by pointing out that the FTA discussions are taking place within a period of conflicting geopolitical circumstances. Dombrovskis, who is also the EU Commissioner for Trade, gave an update on the FTA negotiations and said that both parties have had lengthy meetings. He emphasised the possible advantages of an FTA, such as giving India preferential access to the EU market, which is the biggest single market in the world. Earlier in the week, Dombrovskis travelled to India and attended the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting in Jaipur. The resumption of negotiations for an FTA between the EU and India last year was a significant development in trade ties. The goal of an FTA is to remove trade obstacles between member nations, easing easier import and export procedures and strengthening trade ties. Initial negotiations started in 2007, but were put on hold in 2013. The decision to reopen negotiations in 2021 underscores the two major partners’ common desire to strengthen economic ties and advance frictionless commerce. In order to ensure that trade benefits both parties without having a negative influence on the environment or worker rights, the negotiations cover a wide range of topics, including sustainability, labour standards, and environmental considerations. (With agency inputs)