“I can assure you that India negotiates with fairness, with an open mind… India also takes care of its wider and larger interest in the long run,” Goyal said at the CII India-Europe Business & Sustainability Conclave.
FTAs or Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), or agreements on geographical indications, will have to stand the test of fair, equitable, and balanced agreements as the level of economic developments varies, he said.
“We will have to respect the very different opportunities that are offered by India vis-a-vis the offer on the table from other countries,” Goyal said, adding that India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world.
India is negotiating such agreements with the UK, Oman, and the European Union.
At the same event, the UK’s minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said that British businesses are major investors in India and bilateral trade is growing between the two countries.He also said the two nations are working on an ambitious free trade agreement and bilateral investment treaty.“This will boost our trading partnership further… and (would) show the world that India and the UK are serious about trade and very much committed to prosperity at a global level,” Ahmad said adding that huge business opportunities are there for Indian firms in the UK.
The remarks assume significance as the negotiations for the proposed India-UK free trade agreement are reaching its last leg and a high-level Indian official delegation is in London to iron out the differences on remaining issues.
Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Germany, said the India-EU free trade agreement holds immense potential to amplify trade and foster trade-economic integration, and would benefit private sector investments in Indian manufacturing and services sectors and provide access to Indian businesses to the world’s largest single market.
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