India-EU FTA talks likely to figure during Angela Merkel's visit

New Delhi: Upcoming visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to give a boost to bilateral trade ties in areas like clean energy with India as the two sides are likely to pick up the issue of stalled talks on India-EU free trade pact.

"The issue (proposed free trade agreement) would be picked up during the talks," German Ambassador Martin Ney said while briefing reporters on the Chancellor's visit.

He was replying to a question if the issue of the stalled India-EU free trade agreement will figure during the talks of Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ney said it was high time that parleys on it should resume because it will help to resolve issues on the negotiating table.

India, he felt, should be part of the network of trade agreements among countries globally.

After 14 rounds of talks till May 2013, India in August this year expressed disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences and deferred talks for the proposed free trade agreement.

Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that India is interested in reviving negotiations with the EU, but the 28-nation bloc has to respond to issues related to the pharmaceutical sector.

After a gap of about two years, the two sides are expected to resume negotiations in August. The talks for the Broad- based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), remain stuck as both sides are not satisfied with each other's offers. The talks were launched in June 2007 and have missed several deadlines.

Ney said the outcome of the visit will reflect the broad spectrum of deliberations of the consultations.

Merkel will be arriving here on Sunday night and will co-chair with Modi the third Inter-Governmental Consultations.

The deliverables will cover the areas of security, economy, development cooperation, clean energy, innovation, infrastructure, skills development and food security, he said.

"Our agreements will cover all the key areas of India's development agenda, including 'Make in India', 'Skill India', 'Clean Ganga', 'Clean India' and 'Smart Cities'. Germany has already been part of all these programmes. From now on, we will invest even more in our partnership," he added.

The Ambassador said in addition to government-to- government agreements, German enterprises are expected to conclude momentous deals with Indian business partners.

On the sidelines of the intergovernmental consultations, the Chancellor's business delegation and Indian business leaders will gather in a business summit here.

"We are working hard to facilitate the participation of the Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman," he said.

In Bangalore, Chancellor Merkel will meet with

representatives of several German companies that have strong presence there.

"Jointly with Prime Minister Modi, the Chancellor will visit the innovation centre as well as the vocational training centre of the German company Robert Bosch. There, the Indo-German synergy in the future-oriented areas of 'Industry 4.0' or 'Internet of Things' will be highlighted," Ney said.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor will also interact with business leaders from both the countries.

"To sum it up, I am convinced that the Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations will be resounding success. We will conclude substantial agreements that enable us to further complement our respective strengths," he added.

The bilateral trade between India and Germany declined to USD 20.32 billion in 2014-15 compared to USD 20.44 billion in 2013-14.

India has received USD 8.19 billion FDI from Germany during April 2000 and June 2015.