Piyush Goyal hails 'mother of all deals' as India, EU conclude FTA

In this special report, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri detail the outcomes of the 16th India-EU Summit held in New Delhi. Goyal described the newly concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as the 'mother of all deals', noting it covers 25 per cent of global trade and will provide duty-free access for Indian labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems, and jewellery.

The summit, co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa, also saw the signing of a first-of-its-kind Security and Defence Partnership.

Foreign Secretary Misri highlighted that the agreements include a roadmap toward a 2030 Strategic Agenda and an MOU on mobility to facilitate the movement of professionals and students. The leaders emphasised that this partnership between the world's second and fourth largest economies creates a market of two billion people, fostering shared prosperity and global supply chain resilience.