Piyush Goyal Says India-Chile Trade Deal Almost Finalised
New Delhi, October 27: Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, has said India is moving rapidly on free trade agreements with a number of countries and regional blocs. He suggested that the proposed trade agreement with Chile is nearing completion, and that negotiations with Canada are also advancing well.
During a two-day visit to the Netherlands, Goyal told reporters that India had also started formal talks with the Southern African Customs Union, or SACU. In August, both sides signed terms of reference to begin negotiations on a preferential trade agreement.
SACU consists of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Goyal said the Chile deal was almost at the point of conclusion. He described the progress with Canada as very encouraging. On SACU, he said the talks had just begun and might take some time to mature.
He further stated that Mexico wants to finalise an early-stage trade agreement with India at the earliest. Goyal also noted that after the elections in Brazil, the continuity of its government is expected to speed up the expansion of India's current preferential trade agreement with the Mercosur group.
In the Netherlands, Goyal met Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Helen Herbert, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate, and Arthur van Dijk, King's Commissioner of North Holland. He also met members of the Committee on Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the Dutch House of Representatives and the European Affairs Committee of the Senate. Bilateral economic relations and the broader India-European Union economic partnership were the main themes of these discussions.
The India-Netherlands Business Forum was a centrepiece of the programme. Co-chaired by Goyal and Sjoerdsma, it saw the participation of about 200 delegates, including major companies from India and the Netherlands. The forum explored the opportunities emerging from the India-EU FTA, ways to expand bilateral trade, stronger investment partnerships and greater cooperation across industries.
Goyal held separate meetings with chief executives of leading Dutch companies in semiconductors, electronics, logistics, energy and retail. He also attended a CXO roundtable with 15 Dutch companies, hosted by the Embassy of India in The Hague and HSBC Netherlands.
Goyal said India's ties with the Netherlands are gaining momentum as they progress toward a strategic partnership and as the India-EU FTA enters its final stage. He called the Netherlands a major gateway to European markets and said the two countries have wide scope for cooperation in trade, investment and technology.