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India ‘concluded’ a ‘historic’ Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said connected Tuesday (January 27, 2026), announcing the extremity of negotiations that began astir 2 decades agone and were revived successful 2022.
Speaking astatine the extremity of delegation-level talks with the visiting European leaders—European Council president Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen—Mr. Modi said that alongside the ‘ambitious FTA’, India was besides entering into a caller Security and Defence Partnership and a strategy of mobility that would let unafraid and ineligible question of Indians to the EU region.
“Today, India has concluded the largest Free Trade Agreement successful its history,” said Prime Minister Modi, announcing the decision of the dialog connected the deal. The 2 sides began discussions connected the commercialized woody successful 2007 but suspended the dialog successful 2013, and the talks were relaunched successful 2022 arsenic India and the EU began reorienting policies successful the post-pandemic scenario. The Prime Minister presented the woody arsenic a boost to concern betwixt the European Union and India that would enactment “innovation partnerships and fortify proviso chains astatine the planetary level”. European Commission president Von der Leyen said the FTA would “cut upto €4 cardinal successful yearly tariffs for exporters”. “It brings unneurotic Indian skills, services and standard with Europe’s technology, superior and innovation,” said Ms. Von der Leyen.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the India-EU FTA and said, the woody “safeguards the related sectors” portion “opening a full caller satellite of opportunities for textiles, apparel, leather footwear, marine products, gems, jewellery, handicrafts, engineering goods, aesculapian instruments and appliances, plastics and automobile sectors.”
Referring to planetary uncertainties, Prime Minister Modi stated the 2 sides discussed the struggle successful Ukraine, West Asia and the Indo-Pacific theatre, saying, “In this context, the concern betwixt India and the European Union volition fortify stableness wrong the planetary system.”
A Joint Statement issued aft the gathering said the 2 sides would “continue to enactment efforts towards the accomplishment of a comprehensive, conscionable and lasting bid successful Ukraine done dialog and diplomacy, based connected the principles of the UN Charter and planetary law, including independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.” That apart, the Joint Statement called for “unhindered humanitarian access” for the victims of Israel-Palestinian struggle successful Gaza Strip and called for implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2803 of November 17, 2025 that welcomes the ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza. The papers reiterated the telephone for “implementation of the two-State solution, done dialog and diplomacy” for the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
At the extremity of bilateral consultations, the 2 sides exchanged thirteen documents that included the India-EU FTA, the constitution of a Green Hydrogen Task Force, a mobility statement and a ‘Security and Defence Partnership’. “This volition assistance america enactment much intimately connected counter-terrorism, maritime security, and cybersecurity,” said Mr. Modi, elaborating connected the India-EU Security and Defence Partnership. The Joint Statement elaborated connected the information and defence concern and said the caller papers would deepen ties successful areas similar “maritime security, defence manufacture and technology, cyber and hybrid threats, abstraction and counter-terrorism, among others”.
The 2 sides welcomed the motorboat of talks connected a ‘Security of Information Agreement’ to facilitate the speech of classified information. Briefing the media astir the discussion, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India has defence and information partnerships with “several idiosyncratic EU subordinate states” already, but this model statement connected information and defence would “allow Indian defence companies to payment from opportunities arising from the EU’s ain precise important defence initiatives that are underway”. President Von der Leyen described the defence and information model arsenic “a landmark departure and a trust-based platform”.
The Prime Minister and the visiting EU leaders welcomed the decision of the MoU connected the Comprehensive Framework connected Cooperation connected Mobility. Ms. Von der Leyen announced the motorboat of the archetypal EU Legal Gateway Office that volition enactment arsenic a ‘one-stop hub’ to assistance successful the question of Indian workers to the EU subordinate states. “It volition beryllium a one-stop hub to enactment Indian endowment moving to Europe successful afloat alignment with EU subordinate states’ needs and policies. This is bully for our economies. This is bully for the relationship betwixt our people,” she said.
