New Delhi: India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed an economic agreement on Sunday.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India and EFTA signed an economic agreement on Sunday. This agreement has become possible after almost 16 years of negotiations. This will increase trade and foreign investment.
EFTA includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Goyal said that under the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), EFTA countries will invest $ 100 billion in India in the next 15 years. This is a binding agreement.
Switzerland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Guy Parmelin, said that the agreement will result in an increase in the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and innovative technology into the country, which will boost manufacturing in the country and create more jobs. He said that this will further accelerate the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
European countries, on their part, will gain access to the economic opportunities offered by India’s huge market and the world’s fastest growing economy, he said.
India has sought an investment commitment of $50 billion during the first 10 years and another $50 billion in the next five years from the bloc’s member countries after the implementation of the agreement. This will boost manufacturing in the country and create 10 lakh direct jobs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the signing of the agreement, saying, “Despite structural diversities in many aspects, there are complementarities in our economies that promise to be beneficial to all countries. With huge trade and investment opportunities opening up, we “We have reached a new level of confidence and ambition. The trade agreement symbolizes our shared agreement to open up fair, equitable trade as well as create growth and jobs for youth.”
He said, “India will provide all possible support to the EFTA countries and help industry and businesses not only achieve but also exceed the committed targets. This agreement will be a great step forward in our countries’ journey towards a more prosperous future for all of us.” “It marks the beginning of a new chapter in India.”
The four ministers attending the signing ceremony on behalf of EFTA are: Guy Parmelin, Swiss Federal Counselor and Head of the Department for Economic Affairs, Education and Research; Bjarni Benedictsson, Foreign Minister of Iceland; Dominik Hassler, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein; and Jan Christian Vestre, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry.
India and EFTA have been negotiating an agreement since January 2008 to boost economic relations.
