Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

India-EU free trade pact likely next year

HYDERABAD: A free trade agreement which will bring down various barriers between India and the 27-member European Union (EU) is expected to be concluded next year.

Two rounds of formal negotiations on the modalities to lower the barriers have already been completed. The third round is to be held next month, followed by another session in February, according to Alexander Spachis, Minister-Counsellor, European Union, Delegation of European Commission to India.

He told reporters on Friday on the eve of a symposium on ‘India and the European Union: beyond the headlines’, that India-EU trade was “relatively healthy” but well below the potential. While EU was the biggest trading partner of India, the latter was the 13th partner of EU. The symposium is being organised by the EU, Alliance Francaise, Goethe-Zentrum and OU to mark 50 years of EU.

Dr. Spachis stated that there was practically no imbalance in trade with imports and exports evenly matched at $ 20 billion. He visualised doubling of two-way trade in the next few years once the tariffs were lowered.

He said a major science and technology agreement would be signed during the eighth EU-India summit to be held at Delhi later this month. Cooperation among the scientific institutions was already quite good and the European Research Programme was now open to Indian organisations. There were 45 Indian participants in the first phase. The next phase would be launched soon. He said EU had already increased the scholarships for Indian students to 500 a year. Guillaume Bazard, First Counsellor, French Embassy, Amita Desai, executive director, Association for German Culture, Hyderabad, Siddiq Ali, Director, OU Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP), and Frederic Dart, Director, Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad, spoke.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Peta activists cage themselves
The Hindu-Young World quiz on November 17
GHMC demolition drive continues
Powerful bomb found near rail track, defused
More auto drivers install digital meters
No power utilities
Recruitments to prisons wing
Spouses exempted from repatriation
Stay refused on draw of lots
City rocks for global warming
‘Telangana Talli’ statue at TRS office
Hyundai R&D unit to be ready in 2009
Tension, joy mark draw of lots
Standing counsel re-appointed
Applications for computer awards
India-EU free trade pact likely next year
New Principal Secretary, Health
CAG report submitted to State
Families of detained youth pour out their woes
Student dies in cracker blast
SHRC seeks report
Report on wakf properties submitted
Prizes for HPCL campaign given away in city
Hyderabad Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu