India eyes major trade milestones: EU FTA, Canada CEPA targeted for year-end conclusion

During a press briefing following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation in the 52nd G7 summit in Evian, France, the Foreign Secretary highlighted that India and the European Union are set to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before the end of the year.

The development was confirmed following a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi met jointly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

"With the European Union, the Prime Minister met jointly with both with European Commission President, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council President, Mr. Antonio Costa, and they recalled the fact that discussions on an India-EU FTA, the negotiations, the announcement of the conclusion of negotiations happened earlier this year when the two leaders were visiting New Delhi, and the understanding that by the end of the year the agreement will be signed," he said.

"And this is something that came up in their meeting in Evian on the sidelines of the G7 meetings and they once again reaffirmed their desire and instructed the respective teams to do whatever was necessary to make this signing happen before the end of the year," he added.

This comprehensive India-EU pact spans goods, services, and digital trade. It is set to create a massive free market covering nearly two billion people and a quarter of the global economy, opening new avenues for trade, investment, and technology cooperation.

In addition to the progress with the European Union, the Foreign Secretary said that the government is also moving to accelerate trade talks with Canada, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney, pushed for the conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

"With Canada, Prime Minister, as you are aware, held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada and the two leaders gave instructions to their teams to conclude the negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement by the end of the year," the Foreign Secretary said, highlighting that following a recent visit by the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to Canada, formal discussions are already underway to meet this year-end deadline.

These twin trade objectives form a central pillar of the government's current diplomatic agenda, with teams from all involved parties instructed to prioritise these agreements in the coming months.

Earlier, a statement by the Canadian Prime Minister's Office on the meeting with PM Modi noted that the leaders welcomed the ongoing momentum in the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries and looked forward to the forthcoming Canadian trade mission to India, to be led by Canada's Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, later in 2026.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the negotiations in 2026, the statement highlighted.

In a significant step towards strengthening security cooperation, the leaders also agreed to launch negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA). (ANI)