On May 16, 2023, the India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will hold its
inaugural ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Along with the External Affairs Minister (EAM) and the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, serves as one of the co-chairs. Executive Vice Presidents Mr. Dombrovskis and Ms. Vestager co-chair the EU side. To address strategic challenges at the intersection of trade, dependable technology, and security, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, and H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced the formation of the TTC in New Delhi in April 2022.
In the presence of business leaders from the EU and India, Minister Goyal will attend a bilateral discussion with EVP Dombrovskis on May 15, 2023, followed by stakeholder consultations for Working Group 3. Six corporate executives from the EU and India will attend the WG3 meeting, which is focused on trade, technology, and resilient supply chains. The Minister will give the keynote talk at an afternoon business event hosted by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB) and attend the event. The economic impact of Belgian companies in India and future investment plans will be discussed at this meeting. The three Indian Ministers would also visit the Prime Minister of Belgium and the President of the European Commission.
Minister Goyal will attend a Working Groups 1 and 2 stakeholder event on May 16. While Group 2 focuses on clean and green energy technology, Group 1 focuses on digital governance and connectivity. About eight business executives from each side will attend this event and offer their opinions and comments. On this occasion, Shri Goyal will give a Special Address. EAM and EVP Vestager will also be present at this conference.
Later in the day, Minister Goyal will participate in a bilateral discussion with Mr. Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Trade, where topics related to the SME sector, the start-up ecosystem, and e-commerce will be discussed.
After that, the External Affairs Minister, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology will attend the first ministerial meeting of the India-EU TTC.
The mechanism’s three working groups on strategic technologies, digital governance, digital connectivity, green and clean energy technologies, trade, investment, and resilient value chains will all submit reports on future cooperation road maps between the two parties.
Before the second ministerial meeting in the following year, the first ministerial meeting will lay out a plan for cooperation among the three working groups and give guidance for achieving desired results. The ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, addressing issues of reciprocal market access, WTO reforms, and cooperation in several areas of mutual interest, would all be covered during the high-level meetings with senior leadership of the European Union and Belgium.
The Department of Commerce oversees the Working Group on Trade, Investment, and Resilient Value Chains, and Ms. Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade from the respective sides, and Mr. Sunil Barthwal, Secretary of Commerce, co-chaired the group’s first meeting.
