There will be a trade agreement between India and the four member countries of EFTA

New Delhi: A trade agreement will be signed on Sunday between India and four member countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This will be the first of its kind agreement for investment of $100 billion over a period of 15 years. Sources familiar with the matter said that this investment will create 10 lakh employment opportunities in India.

A team from European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein) is likely to reach Delhi to officially sign the trade and economic partnership agreement.

This will be India's first trade agreement with a European country or organization and the fourth in the last decade. In February 2021, India signed a free trade agreement with Mauritius. After this, similar agreements were signed with United Arab Emirates and Australia last year.

Under the trade and economic partnership agreement, both countries are expected to trade duty-free in products from various sectors. A major win for India will be the investment pledge of $100 billion under the agreement. This is because import duties in European Free Trade Association countries are not very high and India can benefit from limited market access.

India and the European Free Trade Association countries had been negotiating a trade and investment agreement for more than 15 years. The talks stalled in late 2013 after about 13 rounds of talks. After this, talks started again in 2016 and after four rounds of talks, the matter seemed to be resolved in 2023.

Switzerland is India's largest trading partner among the four countries of the European Free Trade Association. India's trade with European Free Trade Association countries was in deficit during the last financial year. India's trade deficit with the European Free Trade Association in FY2023 stood at $14.8 billion as these countries exported goods worth $1.9 billion while imports stood at $16.7 billion. The trade deficit increased due to imports of gold from Switzerland. About 80 percent of the gold in the country is imported from Switzerland.