The CEPA with UAE
In February this year, India went in for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. In a virtual summit, the countries entered the pact with their premiers, PM Narendra Modi and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi signing it. Following the CEPA, 90% of Indian goods are duty-free in the UAE.
Indo-Japanese Investments
In March, the Japanese PM Fumio Kishida was in New Delhi to meet his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi and announced $42 billion in investments over the next five years. Highlighting the talks, PM Modi tweeted, “Advancing friendship with Japan.”
The India-Australia trade agreement
Then came the trade pact with Australia in April. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement will further open up each other’s markets. As per the deal, about 96.4% of Indian products will be duty-free in Australia. Indian PM Narendra Modi and Australian PM Scott Morrison announced the agreement in a virtual ceremony.
After UK, EU wants trade deal
Boosting its trade relations with world nations, India will sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Isreal and the UK in the coming months. Last week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in India for a two-day visit to further the trade talks. And now, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has visited India to bolster economic ties.
Leyen tweeted, “I’m off to New Delhi as we celebrate 60 years of EU-India relations. Sixty years during which we built a solid friendship. And cooperation that we now both want to take to the next level. Looking forward to my discussions with @narendramodi.”
The EU chief underscored the importance of her visit by saying, “I think there’s a lot of untapped potential between the European Union and India. We have a lot in common. We can do so much together by joining forces to benefit our people, climate, and the planet.”
Currently, the European Union is India’s third-largest trading partner. The bilateral trade between the nations amounts to 62.8 billion euros.
The ‘Russia, China’ Agenda: Other than bolstering trade ties with India, it is apparent that the US, UK, Australia, Japan, and the European Union want to sway India away from Russia. Their growing interest in India is also for a long-term strategic geopolitical and military advantage in the event of a faceoff with China.
Reference: India-EU have a lot in common in terms of clean energy
Image Source: Reuters