New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Terming the trade deal inked with the European Union on Tuesday a “strategic breakthrough” in India's global trade engagement, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the deal safeguards the related sectors while heralding a new era of prosperity by gaining unprecedented access for 99 per cent of Indian exports.

In a series of messages posted on X, the home minister said the deal marks a “defining moment”, augmenting India's mission for an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' through win-win agreements, securing a trusted, mutually beneficial and balanced partnership.

“The India-EU Trade Deal marks a defining moment, securing a strategic breakthrough in India's global trade engagement. Embossing PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji’s astute diplomatic vision on a global platform, the deal augments India's mission for an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' through win-win agreements, securing a trusted, mutually beneficial, and balanced partnership,” Shah said.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic achievement and congratulating the people of India, Shah said, “Spearheaded by PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji's dictum of 'India First’, the India-EU Trade Deal safeguards the related sectors while heralding a new era of prosperity by gaining unprecedented access for 99 per cent of Indian exports, opening a whole new world of opportunities for textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems, jewelry, handicrafts, engineering goods, medical instruments and appliances, plastics and rubber, and automobile sectors.” Shah also said the deal set a new benchmark for people-friendly trade agreements, besides setting the stage for a boom in the rural economy and a rise in women's participation through securing preferential market access for agricultural exports.

“Through the India-EU Trade Deal, Modi Ji launches the global aspirations of our youth to achieve new heights by unlocking opportunities across sectors, creating new jobs, spurring innovation, and enhancing their competitiveness,” he said in a post.

The home minister also said that aligning with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat 2047’, the agreement powers India's talent across Europe by providing independent professionals spread across 17 subsectors with certainty in providing services to EU clients, creating avenues in knowledge-driven trade, and facilitating AYUSH practitioners trained in India with the scope to provide services in the EU member states.

India and the European Union on Tuesday sealed a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) -- billed as "mother of all deals" -- with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership unveiling a grand agenda to leverage trade and defence to shore up ties and work towards a rules-based world order.

The two sides also inked two crucial pacts -- one on security and defence collaboration and another on the mobility of Indian talent to Europe -- after Prime Minister Modi hosted EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa for summit talks.

In line with their vision for a rules-based global order, India and the 27-nation bloc rolled out a joint comprehensive strategic agenda for the next five years and firmed up 13 pacts, including one on the conclusion of negotiations for the FTA. PTI ABS ARI

India-EU trade deal grants preferential market access for 99% of Indian exports and mobility for professionals. The Free Trade Agreement framework secures preferential market access for about 99% of Indian exports across defined sectors and includes provisions to support agricultural exports. Complementary pacts provide regulatory certainty for services and mobility for independent professionals in seventeen subsectors, including pathways for AYUSH practitioners, and are accompanied by security, defence, and implementation agreements to operationalise the strategic partnership.