Possible Free Trade Agreement India & EU

Last month, EU leaders met with Indian Prime Minister Modi to discuss a possible trade agreement. Richard Ghiasy, expert on Asian geopolitics at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) says that India has great potential to become a good trading partner as the country has a population of about 1.2 billion citizens, almost 20 percent of humanity.

'Although India doesn't have the average purchasing power of the Chinese population, its potential is obviously visible'. According to Ghiasy, the next step now is to start building on a partnership between the EU and India.

New opportunities are created for India because of COVID19

Indian leader Narendra Modi grabs the coronacrisis as an opportunity to become the new China. While the Chinese are distrusted by the US and Europe, India presents itself as a safe alternative for investors. Many multinationals no longer want to be dependent on China,' says Modi. His vision: a huge aid package of $266 billion - about 10% of India's GDP - aimed at affected companies should make that possible. In addition, he wants to seize the crisis as an opportunity to further reform India by, among others, throwing the complex tax system and outdated labour laws on the back burner. The big goal: to attract foreign investors to boost India's own economy.

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