Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that while there is no fixed timeline for the discussions, a well-structured Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union should ideally be concluded by the end of this year.
In a press conference held in Paris, Goyal said negotiations will progress rapidly.
Minister Goyal's visit to France marks the commencement of his three-day official tour from June 1 to 3, 2025. During this period, he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with French Ministers, including Eric Lombard, Minister of Economy, and Laurent Saint-Martin, French Trade Minister, focusing on strengthening the Indo-French economic partnership.
During his stay, Goyal will also participate in the informal gathering of WTO Ministers on the margins of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. At this crucial forum, he will engage with global counterparts on key multilateral trade issues including agriculture (finding permanent solution to the public stock holding); fisheries agreement, investment facilitation proposal, reforms in the WTO and dysfunctional appellate body of the Geneva-based forum.
Additionally, he will engage in strategic business meetings with top leadership of major French companies such as Vicat, Total Energies, L'Oréal, Renault, Valeo, EDF, and ATR, and participate in the India-France Business Round Table and the India-France CE.
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