New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) India and the 27-nation European Union have concluded a work programme on FDI screening, with both sides exchanging best practices to further accelerate investment flows, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

Addressing the media in Brussels after the third Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting, he said the council has helped both sides move from discussions to delivery, according to an official release.

Both the EU and India are committed to de-risk dependencies on certain critical areas, he said.

"In fact, the TTC today has become an important pillar of our engagement. The working group, which deals with matters around trade, has made steady and tangible progress. We have concluded a work program on foreign direct investment screening. We've exchanged best practices and (it) will help further speed up flow of Investments on both sides," he said.

The two sides, Goyal said, are committed to ensuring that their work is outcome-oriented in all areas, such as market access, harmonising standards, operationalising key supply chain imperatives, and greater collaboration in deep tech startups, innovation ecosystem, and advanced manufacturing.

"It's important that areas like pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, and agri-food will also be important subjects to bring our two economies closer together," he said.

He added that the India-EU free trade agreement will be signed later this year.

Meanwhile, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the bilateral discussions focused on resolving market access issues and the need for reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Both sides also discussed the progress of the work leading to the swift ratification of the free trade agreement.

"The FTA opens the door to tremendous opportunities because it will establish a secure and stable commercial framework that will help us to mitigate the risks associated with the current geopolitical volatility," he said.

He added that an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications, on which the negotiations will start, will further strengthen the EU-India economic relationship.

The TTC serves as the highest institutional mechanism for cooperation on trade, trusted technology and economic security.

Goyal co-chaired the TTC Ministerial Meeting alongside the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Jitin Prasada.

The three working groups of TTC are on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance, and Digital Connectivity; Clean and Green Technologies; and Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains. PTI RR MR