Piyush Goyal highlights transformative potential of India-EU FTA

Berlin/New Delhi, October 24 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he has emphasised the transformative potential of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), set to be signed by the end of this year, in expanding market access, strengthening supply chains, and creating new avenues for trade and investment.Goyal said he had an “insightful interaction” with the accompanying Indian business delegation in Berlin, celebrating the growing momentum of the India-Germany partnership and the opportunities it presents for Indian industry.He urged businesses especially MSMEs across sectors and textiles to pharmaceuticals, engineering, renewable energy, and emerging technologies, to seize this opportunity and build lasting partnerships with German counterparts.“Called upon the delegation to uphold the highest standards of quality, compliance, and reliability, reinforcing India's standing as a nation that delivers on its commitments and a partner the world can trust,” Goyal posted on X.The minister also addressed a roundtable in Berlin with heads of prominent German research organisations.“Exchanged insights on expanding India-Germany collaboration in research, frontier technologies and innovation. Discussions also focused on accelerating joint efforts in advanced materials and artificial intelligence, while strengthening linkages between our research institutions, startups, and industry,” the minister further informed.During his engagement with the heads of selected Fraunhofer Institutes working on new and emerging industrial technologies, he highlighted how German precision technology and India's skilled talent can come together to drive innovation at an affordable cost.“With India's dedicated efforts towards skill development, there is immense potential to strengthen collaboration among researchers, academia and industry and deepen our partnership in research & development,” said the minister.He also emphasised that the India-EU FTA opens immense opportunities to combine our complementary strengths in advanced manufacturing, engineering, IT and telecom, and technology-enabled services to usher in greater prosperity for our people.In an interaction with the Indian science and technology researchers and students in Berlin, he heard their views on strengthening the support ecosystem for Indian talent abroad and urged them to continue to contribute in their way towards the Viksit Bharat journey.“Assured them of full support to ensure that their efforts in the field of innovation and startups get a platform at important trade fairs and exhibitions and that the India story is strongly showcased,” said the minister.