First round of India-EAEU FTA to begin in November
NEW DELHI : The first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, will most likely begin in early November, according to the Russian Embassy.
In a statement, the Embassy of Russia in India said that the Minister of charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Andrey Slepnev, met with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, on September 15.
“The ministers agreed on an approach under which the first round of negotiations is set to take place in early November this year in India and focus on discussing the core aspects of the future deal,” said the statement, adding that the discussion will be preceded by “intensive consultations between the Commission, Indian partners, and the EAEU Member states”.
The Indian government has so far not confirmed the date of the first round of negotiations, nor confirmed the Embassy’s statement.
Meanwhile, India continues to be in talks for FTAs with numerous nations, including Chile, Peru and the European Union (EU), with which it will hold the next round of negotiations on October 6-10.
A source privy to the negotiations has confirmed “almost all” issues pertaining to the FTA between India and the EU bloc have been resolved, and that the two sides were looking at an early harvest.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, had posted on X on Wednesday that “we are committed to finalising our trade agreement [with India] by the end of the year”, a deadline that was also mentioned by EU trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic last week.
India will also review the FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the next meeting for which is scheduled for October 6-7, with an official in the ministry of commerce and industry saying the review is “expected to be concluded by the year-end”.
The next round of talks between India and Chile is slated for October 27-31, and for India-Peru, on November 3-5.