Prime Minister Modi, who will travel to Portugal for the India-EU Summit taking place in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, will continue on the second stage of his tour to France for a bilateral visit.
By Shishir Gupta, New Delhi
PUBLISHED APRIL 4, 2021, 12:37 PM IST
India and the European Union are expected to signal the start of negotiations for a broad-based trade and investment agreement (BBTIA) at the Portugal Summit on May 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the India-EU summit in Lisbon before flying to France for a high-profile bilateral visit, people familiar with the matter said.
Technical negotiations on the trade agreement, which is also being conducted by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, at the diplomatic level, will begin between April 9 and 19. There is the possibility of a meeting between Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and the Executive Vice President and Commissioner of the EU. for the Valdis Dombrovskis trade later this month. The date of the Goyal-Dombrovskis meeting has not yet been decided, EU diplomats said.
Despite India being one of the EU’s largest trading partners, trade negotiations, which started in 2007, have been slow in the past with differences over tariff levels for wines and spirits, car components, small cars and safety. of data. “However, both sides have shown more accommodation this time and are willing to have a positive view towards exports from both blocs,” said a senior official.
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The EU will be under pressure to complete the trade deal with India, as India is expected to sign a bilateral trade deal with the UK post-Brexit during British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to New Delhi on April 26.
Prime Minister Modi, who will travel to Portugal for the India-EU Summit taking place in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, will continue on the second stage of his tour to France for a bilateral visit. Maritime security will be at the heart of his summit-level talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
While the broad agenda of the bilateral visit to France will be finalized during Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian’s two-day visit to India from April 12, the two countries are expected to give new meaning to cooperation in the field of defense and security, in addition to politics. synergy in multilateral platforms. President Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne is also deeply involved in the bilateral exercise with a special focus on acquiring new capabilities and the latest technologies to counter any aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
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