Anand Sharma apprises PM on India-EU FTA progress
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Ahead of the India-EU summit next week, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the progress made in the trade negotiations with the bloc.
"The minister has apprised the Prime Minister yesterday regarding the progress made on the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the areas of disagreement," a source said.
Sharma, at an event yesterday, had said substantial progress has been made and negotiations are in advanced stage. But there are few ends which have to be closed.
The minister had reviewed the progress of the FTA negotiations during the recent meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. He returned from his European tour on January 31.
Though the FTA would not be concluded in the next few days, the two sides are expected to unveil a political agreement during the upcoming summit.
The proposed pact seeks to liberalise trade in goods and services, besides investments.
The negotiations which commenced in 2007, were to conclude in 2011, but differences on the level of opening of the market came in the way of the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), the official name of the FTA.
EU is India's largest trading partner with USD 91.3 billion trade between the two sides during 2010-11.