New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold discussions in Brussels with Commissioner of the European Commission for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic from January 18-20 on the proposed free trade agreement between the two, an official statement said on Friday.
On the sidelines, the minister is also expected to meet World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonzo-Iweala, and Belgian Trade Minister Bernard Quintin.
During the visit, Goyal and Sefcovic are expected to hold wide-ranging discussions on India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, undertake a stocktake of the Trade and Technology Council framework and take up bilateral trade matters.
The leaders may also "discuss the global economic situation amidst trade disruptions, give political directions to expedite the FTA negotiations and explore a commercially significant, balanced, equitable, ambitious and mutually beneficial pact," the commerce ministry said.
The meeting assumes significance as the tenth round of talks between India and the EU is scheduled from March 10-14 in Brussels.
In the ninth round, both sides discussed trade issues covering goods, services, investment and government procurement along with necessary rules such as rules of origin, SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary), and technical barriers to trade.
In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight years. It was stalled in 2013 due to differences over several issues.
The total trade stood at USD 180 billion in 2023-24. India exported USD 75.18 billion in goods and USD 31.13 billion in services to the EU, while the EU exported USD 63.44 billion in goods and USD 31.35 billion in services to India.
At the same time, the ministry said the EU is also a significant source of Foreign Direct Investment, with total FDI estimated at USD 117.34 billion.
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