Pushing India-EU free trade agreement to become a priority for Sweden during its EU presidency: Swedish trade minister
Pushing the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be a priority for Sweden during its six-month presidency of the EU starting on January 1, 2023, and the country is hopeful that the pact can be concluded by the next presidency (between July 1 -31 December 2023), Johan Forssell, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, has said.
“The India-EU FTA is a priority for us during our presidency. We will do our best to be honest brokers. This is based on mutual trust. You cannot have it as ‘my way or the highway’. You have to see what the obstacles are and have an open discussion about it, Forssell said in a call with media representatives at an interaction on Friday.
If India continues to source oil from Russia, Forssell said that was India’s decision to make based on its domestic policies. “Obviously, the war between Russia and Ukraine has affected Europe (countries) in many ways, especially in terms of their energy situation. But each country has to make its own decisions. I agree with PM Modi that this is not a time for war. Hopefully we out of it soon. There are no winners here, he says.
The Swedish minister is in India on an official two-day visit and met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and India’s G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant. He is accompanied by a business delegation consisting of CEOs and board chairmen of top Swedish companies such as SAAB, Ericsson, AstraZeneca, Perstorp, SEB Bank and Getinge. “They (CEO and chairman) represent the best of Sweden. That says something about India’s importance, he said.
Priority areas
The priority areas for cooperation between India and Sweden that were discussed at the meetings include green transition, infrastructure, technical industry, health, security and defence.
On Swedish defense production company Saab’s decision to set up a manufacturing facility for the Carl-Gustaf shoulder-fired weapon system in India, Forssell said there are more complex systems that could also be of interest to India.
“Sweden has a long tradition of a strong defense industry. We are very good at producing high quality assets at a reasonable price. We hope that combination is useful for India as well. For example, we have a fantastic fighter jet program. We are happy to help India where the best we can,” he added.
Forssell pointed out that India and the EU represented a huge population, and it was a difficult task to balance all interests, and indicated that attempts could be made to conclude the FTA at least in the second half of 2023. “I spoke to Minister Goyal. We have agreed to continue the discussion. To be honest, it may be difficult to finish the negotiations during the Swedish presidency (January 1-June 30, 2023… But we will at least try to give it a push forward maybe until the next presidency,” he said.