Piyush Goyal (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the free trade agreement between India and EU, where negotiations are in the final phase, will be the “mother of all deals” signed by the country so far.“I have done seven deals so far. All with developed economies. This one will be the mother of all,” the minister said. Goyal has successfully negotiated FTAs with UAE, Australia, the four-nation European Free Trade Association, the UK, Oman, New Zealand and Mauritius during his stint as commerce and industry minister. Several more in the pipeline include the bilateral trade agreement with the US.
The minister said in areas of India’s interest “we are getting a super deal. In areas of EU interest also, we are giving them a super deal. It has to be a win-win. The good part is we do not compete with each other. We have different interests.”On Thursday, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal had said that the two sides had negotiated 20 of the 24 chapters and efforts were under way to conclude the talks by Jan 26.European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations.Separately, Goyal said the ministry is looking at creating a segment for startups under the Rs 25,000-crore Export Promotion Mission.
