By the officials, it was said that they are positive about the approach of agreement on the trade pact with Nordic countries in the coming few months. The trade Minister from Switzerland and Norway is to visit Delhi this week.
The Switzerland government is ready to finalize the agreement of free trade between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). It began 15 years ago and is still lingering after a round of negotiation, the government wants it to be done before the general election of 2024.
Switzerland’s State Secretary, Artieda’s take
Switzerland’s State Secretary, Helene Budliger Artieda stated that the negotiations with the Indian government are underway to the Indian reports. she visited India second time this year on Tuesday, for the negotiation. ” This is my top priority because there is great potential between an economic relation between India and EFTA countries, particularly with Switzerland,” Budliger Artieda said before leaving for India.
India applies high tariffs on many of the EFTA countries concerning the trade of goods, Artieda talked about it earlier this year in a PTI interview. She also said that they also look for a substantial reduction of trade barriers like tariffs and duties, to be in particularly for high value-added products like machine tools, Switzerland chocolate, pharmaceuticals, Norwegian and Icelandic fish advanced chemicals, and many more.
Officials optimist about the agreement
This visit is a “critical movement” for India-EFTA and a final call about whether they can find a breakthrough point for the negotiation or not. The four-nation grouping has 30 Free Trade Agreements FTAs with other countries and negotiations are going on with Vietnam, India, Kosovo, Malaysia, Thailand, and the South American MERCOSUR.
The two-day visit of Norwegian trade minister Jan Christian Verte and Norwegian state secretary, Helene Budliger Artieda will meet Minister of External Affairs MEA secretary (west) Sanjay Verma. the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and Bilateral Investment Treaty(BIT) will be discussed,
The MEA said that both sides are looking forward to the discussion on the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and Bilateral Investment Treaty(BIT) by India and EFTA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the president of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset in Dubai on 1 December at the COP28 Climate Summit. The meeting was unofficial and can be called a personal discussion.
Officials did not open up about the meeting, and where it will be held. but they stated that reducing trade tariffs, opening market access for companies and the service mobilization on both sides remain unclear and unresolved. 
ACCORDING TO THE SOURCES
According the diplomatic sources, India has less skilled negotiators in trade. so the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of External Affairs are being stretched thin with all the negotiations going on and dragging on for a longer time.
Other Agreements
The Comprehensive Economic and Commercial Agreement (CECA) between India and Australia is yet to be finalized. Meanwhile, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is planning a bilateral visit to India.
The India UK- FTA talks were supposed to be closed by “completed by Deepavali in 2022” and are still not ready for signing. The meetings are going on regularly the resolve the issues on tariffs, rules of Origin, and market access for the UK legal and financial service firms to India.
In addition, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is also expected to visit India for the Quad Summit in 2024. The officials are working diligently to wrap up the agreements before these high-profile visits take place. They’re hopeful that everything will be in order before the visits are officially scheduled.
Conclusion
The agreement is important for India to grow the market and the participation in the market will also increase. the government has focused on closing the agreement before the general election as it will give great point points to the BJP.
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