Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has wrapped up a two-day visit to Brussels, holding intensive talks aimed at accelerating the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The discussions, held on January 8–9, included a high-level dialogue with the EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič.
Ministry said both sides reviewed progress made across negotiating tracks and instructed their teams to resolve pending issues. The engagement signalled strong political intent to deliver a comprehensive agreement after months of technical discussions.
Goyal’s visit followed two days of senior-level meetings between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Sabine Weyand, Director-General for Trade at the European Commission, on January 6–7. Those talks focused on taking stock of negotiations, narrowing gaps and clarifying outstanding points before the ministerial-level review.
During the Brussels meeting, Goyal and Šefčovič held detailed deliberations on key pillars of the proposed deal, including market access for goods, rules of origin and services. Both sides acknowledged steady progress and reiterated commitment to concluding a fair, balanced and ambitious agreement aligned with shared economic priorities and a rules-based trading system.
At the conclusion of the visit, India and the EU expressed confidence about moving towards an early conclusion of a modern and mutually beneficial FTA, seen by both sides as strategically important for future economic cooperation.
