India-EU Agreement: German Chancellor said on India-EU Agreement, this is an opportunity for ‘superpowers’ to come together

Davos. Just days before the signing of the proposed FTA between India and the European Union (EU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday said the ‘era of superpowers’ is an opportunity for countries to support rules-based order and free trade instead of protectionism and isolationism. Addressing the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) here, Merz said Europe wants high economic growth and every possible effort will be made to achieve it.

He said that in a few days the President of the European Commission will visit India, where the principles of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union will be finalized. “I was in India a week ago. I have no doubt that the current global scenario presents an opportunity for countries that prefer rules over arbitrary decisions and believe in free trade rather than protectionism and isolationism,” Merz said.

He said that the European Union is working together with new partners in this direction. Merz also mentioned efforts to finalize trade agreements with Mexico and Indonesia. Earlier on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said that the EU is close to a historic trade deal with India, which is being called the ‘most important agreement’.

He had said that this agreement will create a market of about two billion people, which will be about one-fourth of the global gross domestic product (GDP). Along with Leanne, European Council President Antonio Costa will be on a visit to India from January 25 to 27. He will attend the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest and will hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The completion of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement can be announced in the India-European Union summit to be held on January 27.

The proposed agreement is expected to strengthen the overall India-EU bilateral relations at a time when global trade is witnessing widespread disruption due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. The European Union is India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in goods between the two stood at $135 billion in the financial year 2023-24. The proposed FTA is expected to provide a significant boost to trade relations.