After the signing of the landmark India-EU FTA, Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed a briefing in the national capital on Tuesday.
‘India-EU FTA a game changer,’ says Piyush Goyal; Foreign Secy calls deal outcomes ‘deeply strategic’. (ANI)
After the signing of the landmark India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed a briefing in the national capital on Tuesday. Alongside the FTA, India and the European Union also inked a security and defence partnership agreement, and an MOU on the comprehensive framework on cooperation on mobility, among others.
Calling it a gamechanger in terms of the strategic partnership between Europe and India, the Union Minister congratulated 1.4 billion citizens of the country for the successful signing of the India-EU FTA. He highlighted that the deal is a reflection that when 25% of global trade decides to strengthen the strategic partnership, it unlocks the doors to defence cooperation, greater investments, to cooperation in the field of innovation and science to further integration of financial markets.
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#WATCH | Delhi: On the India-EU FTA, Union Minister Piyush Goyal says, “I’d like to begin by congratulating 1.4 billion brothers and sisters in India. This visit is extraordinary. It goes far beyond a Free Trade Agreement. It goes far beyond the humongous potential that is being… pic.twitter.com/U8hNk98x8l
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— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026
Recalling the hurdles that halted this important milestone for over two decades, Goyal said, “The discussions were launched in 2006. 16 rounds of negotiations were held. Sadly, in 2013, efforts were aborted, and almost nobody ever imagined the European Union and India being able to come up with such a robust partnership framework as has been finalised by our leaders today. In fact, when we relaunched negotiations in mid-2022 and laid the initial foundational work, prepared our game plan, and way forward. We had elections in India and then in the European Union through 2024. So, the heavy lifting for this FTA really started after the historic visit of the European Union trade commissioners led by Ursula von der Leyen in February 2025… Therefore coming up is a very balanced, equitable, and fair free trade agreement.”
#WATCH | Delhi: On the India-EU FTA, Union Minister Piyush Goyal says, “This breakthrough in the EU-India trade relations comes after 20 years. The discussions were launched in 2006. 16 rounds of negotiations were held. Sadly, in 2013, efforts were aborted, and almost nobody ever… pic.twitter.com/k4AO2ZUpfx
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026
He called the deal a win-win for all sections of industry, both in India and European Union, as it opens up plethora of opportunities for investment, opens up markets which are complementary, with India gaining access significantly in labour-intensive industries like marine products, chemicals, footwear and leather, plastic rubber goods, textiles, apparel and clothing, gems and jewellery, furniture, sports goods, toys, and the European Union industries gaining access to the large and fastest growing economy of India in innovation, technology, sectors of precision engineering, and areas where India continues to look for partnerships and technologies from across the world.
Foreign Secretary called the outcomes of the deal deeply strategic in nature. Highlighting the steady growth in the relations between India and the European Union over the last decade, Misri said the ties have grown not just in scale but in significance as well, as evidenced by the level and frequency of contacts and engagements between the two sides.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the visit of President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen to India, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri says, “… The outcomes are deeply strategic in nature. Over the last decade, the… pic.twitter.com/WVPRc5jPdk
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026
Misri emphasised that the strategic partnership between India and the EU hold a value beyond the bilateral context, particularly amid shifts in the global economic, technological, and strategic landscape.
Expressing concern over the present-day global challenges, Misri stressed that India and the EU have very high stakes on over-dependence and concentration of global manufacturing and supply chains on a limited set of geographies, an ineffective multilateral system, emerging multipolarity, and growing protectionist tendencies in different parts of the world. He said that this very strategic partnership is being taken forward by the leaders of the world’s second and fourth largest markets for the greater good of the global population.
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