A meeting between the Chief Negotiators of India and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was held today in New Delhi to take stock of the status of the on-going negotiations for a Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).

The India-EFTA TEPA negotiations had started in October, 2008. So far, 13 rounds of negotiations have been held at the level of Chief Negotiators. The last round of negotiations was held in November, 2013 and thereafter the negotiations had remained suspended.

The stock-taking meeting was held today in an amicable and constructive environment with both the sides expressing their willingness to jointly address the major outstanding issues and agreeing to an early resumption of negotiations and concluding a balanced agreement in a time-bound manner.

Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement talks to resume after stock-taking meeting, parties agree to address outstanding issues promptly. Stock-taking review of the Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations noted that thirteen rounds of Chief Negotiator-level talks since 2008 had been suspended after 2013; both sides agreed to jointly address outstanding substantive issues and to resume negotiations promptly to conclude a balanced agreement in a time-bound manner.