India on Sunday signed a $100-billion free trade pact with the four-nation bloc European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to help promote investments and exports of key domestic services sectors such as IT, audio-visual, and movement of skilled professionals.
This was the third major trade deal finalised by the Modi government since early 2022 when New Delhi signed separate bilateral agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia. India is also negotiating big-ticket trade deals with the European Union and the UK, though those are unlikely to be finalised in the near future.
The India- EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) was signed by commerce minister Piyush Goyal, Swiss federal councillor and head of the federal department of economic affairs Guy Parmelin, Iceland’s foreign minister Bjarni Benediktsson, Liechtenstein’s foreign minister Dominique Hasler and Norway’s trade minister Jan Christian Vestre.
People familiar with the matter said the EFTA states have committed to invest $100 billion in India over a period of 15 years. The trade deal also covers gender and environment aspects, they said on condition of anonymity.
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