External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today met European Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič in New Delhi.
In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar expressed confidence that the European Commissioner and his team will have productive discussions in India.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “A pleasure to meet European Trade & Economic Security Commissioner @MarosSefcovic in New Delhi today. Confident that the Commissioner and his team will have productive discussions in India.”
Officials earlier confirmed to ANI that negotiating teams from India and the European Union will hold a two-day round of discussions on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), beginning Monday and continuing through Tuesday.
The meeting marks another step in efforts to deepen India-EU economic ties. FTA negotiations between the two sides were revived in June 2022 after a long pause.
EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin while addressing India’s World Annual Conclave 2025 last week, said the current phase of discussions represents a complete shift in approach, describing it as “EU-India FTA negotiation 2.0.”
“I would say it’s not the same FTA negotiation as a decade ago. It’s not a continuum. So please don’t read this FTA negotiation through the lens of the past,” Delphin said.
He added that both sides now share “a growing sense of shared necessity and complementarity,” as reflected in the European Commission’s visit to India earlier this year.
Delphin added that global trade tensions have increased the urgency of a predictable, rules-based framework.