French President Macron’s Upcoming Visit On Republic Day Could Boost India-EU FTA Discussions: GTRI

India and the European Union restarted the discussions over the long-overdue trade and investment agreement in June 2022, after a break of over eight years

French President Emmanuel Macron’s upcoming visit to India as the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations is potentially going to boost the ongoing talks for a trade agreement between India and the EU, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. 

Notably, India and the European Union restarted the discussions over the long-overdue trade and investment agreement in June 2022, after a break of over eight years, reported PTI. France is a crucial member of the EU and Macron is set to visit India as the chief guest for the country’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2024. The French President is also scheduled to visit Jaipur, Rajasthan on Thursday.

Negotiations for the free-trade agreement between India and the EU were suspended in 2013. The global think tank stated that this visit is estimated to give a boost to several areas of mutual interest, from defence cooperation to economic ties, energy collaboration, space, and nuclear partnerships between the two regions.

The GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative) said, “The discussions will likely pave the way for new agreements and deepen existing cooperation, reflecting the dynamic and evolving nature of the India-France strategic partnership.”

Ajay Srivastava, co-founder, GTRI, noted, “ France, as India's eighth largest trading partner, aims to strengthen trade and investment ties. Both countries are negotiating an FTA (India-EU FTA) to further expand the relationship. They may discuss market access, intellectual property rights, and investment facilitation.” 

The upcoming negotiations will mark the seventh round of discussions for the proposed FTA and will be held from February 19-23. The GTRI executive added that these discussions could include areas such as counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, and defence technology transfer. Further, a partnership could also be expected in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and sustainable infrastructure development, highlighting the need to fight climate change, the think tank added. 

“The growing space partnership between India's ISRO and France's CNES, including joint missions and technology transfer, will likely be a topic of discussion besides increasing cooperation in the civil nuclear segment,” it said. 

Notably, India and France share a crucial economic relationship, marked by business presence, trade, and investment. More than 1,000 French firms operate in India across sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and services, while over 200 Indian companies are based in France. 

In 2022-23, the bilateral trade touched $19.2 billion. India’s exports to France include diesel worth $707.9 million, ATF worth $405 million, turbojets worth $496 million, apparel at $850 million, footwear worth $157 million, medicines at $447.8 million, and chemicals at $364.5 million, among others, the report noted. 

Major imports include LNG worth $400 million, planes, helicopters, and/or spacecraft worth $2.1 billion, and gas turbines worth $442.2 million, among others. France stands as the 11th largest investor in India, with a cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $10.5 billion during the April 2000 to March 2023 period.