Next week, a delegation of investors of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with 4 member countries will come to India. This includes Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the delegation would seek the possibility of business opportunities and investment agreements in India.
Representatives of EFTA will be in Delhi with more than 100 investors. According to investment commitments under the Indo-EFTA Trade Agreement, the visit is taking place, with an investment commitment to an investment of $ 50 billion of 10 years of agreement and an additional investment of $ 50 billion in the next 5 years. This investment is expected to create 1 million jobs in India in 15 years.
Government officials have hoped that this investment will be focused on manufacturing in various sectors India, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing with infrastructure sectors. The trade agreement between EFTA and India was signed in March last year. For this, 21 rounds of conversations went on in 16 years. The trade agreement will be applicable from the end of 2025. Switzerland is India’s largest trading partner among the 4 countries of EFTA. In the first 8 months of this financial year, India has exported $ 1.28 billion to EFTA countries, out of which 77 percent exports to Switzerland. Import has been $ 15.8 billion, with 97 percent of imports from Switzerland. BS