India Pushes Forward on EFTA Trade Pact Implementation with Norway

Trade Pact Implementation with Norway :

India is actively working on the implementation of its recently signed trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states. India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, recently held a bilateral meeting with Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, to discuss the steps involved in putting the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) into action.

Following their meeting, Minister Goyal shared that they discussed the practical implementation of the TEPA, along with strengthening overall bilateral ties and boosting trade and investment flows between India and Norway.

The India-EFTA TEPA, a significant trade pact, was signed on March 10, 2024. EFTA is an intergovernmental body comprising four countries: Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. Its core purpose is to promote free trade and economic integration among its member states.

A key highlight of the TEPA is EFTA’s commitment to promoting investments in India. They have pledged to work towards increasing the stock of foreign direct investments in India by $100 billion over the next 15 years. This investment is also expected to facilitate the creation of 1 million direct jobs in India (excluding foreign portfolio investment).

Among the EFTA nations, Switzerland is currently India’s largest trading partner, with Norway following as the second largest.

This meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister took place amidst Minister Goyal’s other engagements in Europe, which included recent productive discussions with senior officials in the United Kingdom. His meetings with the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office focused on deepening India-UK economic cooperation and reinforcing their long-standing partnership. India and the UK have resumed negotiations towards their own bilateral trade deal, and Minister Goyal also addressed a joint business reception highlighting the promising future of the India-UK partnership.

The discussion with Norway specifically on the EFTA TEPA implementation demonstrates India’s focus on operationalizing its trade agreements to unlock new opportunities for trade and investment with this important European bloc.

Source – Fieo