New Delhi: India and the European Union are close to sealing a “historic trade agreement” that could be the “mother of all deals” which would create a market comprising 2 billion people, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
“I will travel to India. There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement. Some call it the mother of all deals,” Von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
The EU chief, who will be visiting India later this month for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underlined the prospect of a market, through the free trade agreement (FTA), which would account for almost a quarter of the global GDP.
Von der Leyen European Council president Antonio Costa will be in India from January 25 to 27 as Republic Day chief guests, and hold talks with Modi.
The EU-India FTA comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has been using tariffs as a ‘weapon’ to ty and force India, European countries and other nations to tow his line.
“In my view, the seismic change we are going through today is an opportunity, in fact, a necessity to build a new form of European independence. It is time to seize this opportunity,” she said.
EU and India are expected to announce the conclusion of negotiations on the much-awaited FTA at the New Delhi summit on January 27.
“And, crucially, that would provide a first-mover advantage for Europe with one of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic continents,” Von der Leyen said.
She added that Europe wants to do business with the growth centres of today and the economic powerhouses of this century.
The EU is already India’s biggest trade partner. The FTA will significantly enhance bilateral trade, which was recorded at $135 billion in the financial year 2023-24.