India, EU held first high-level dialogue on trade and investment

The First High-Level Dialogue on trade and investment was held between India and European Union on February 5, 2021.

The meeting was co-chaired by Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Valdis Dombrovskis, European Union Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner.

According to the statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, commitment to the establishment of this dialogue was the major result of the 15th India-EU Leaders Summit which was held in July 2020.

The commitment for the dialogue was made with an objective for ministerial-level guidance towards the bilateral trade and investment relations.

Hosted the first high-level dialogue on India-EU Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis @VDombrovskis. pic.twitter.com/57zzGW0HwZ

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 5, 2021

Key Highlights:

• During the dialogue, there was an emphasis on the significance of global cooperation and solidarity in the post-COVID-19 era.

• The ministers from India and the EU agreed to further deepen the bilateral trade and investment relationship through a series of regular engagements. They will aim at a quick deliverable for the businesses in these difficult times.

• The ministers during the discussion also agreed to meet within the next three months with the purpose of reaching a consensus on a host of Bilateral Regulatory Dialogue; an India-EU Multilateral Dialogue for further exploring the possibilities of cooperation etc.

Renewed India-EU commercial partnership:

In a major step forward, during the High-Level Dialogue between India and European Union, regular interaction for the re-initiation of investment agreements and bilateral trade, with an interim agreement was also discussed.

The meeting was concluded by the ministers with commitment and confidence towards a renewed India-EU economic and commercial partnership that will be reflecting the full potential of bilateral commercial relations.