By Palash Srivastava

New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): Sena Latif, Ambassador of Romania to India, hailed the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), describing it as a 'mother of all deals'.

Speaking to ANI, Ambassador of Romania described the recent Free Trade Agreement between India and European Union as 'historic', saying that it creates a common market which connects two billion consumers from around the world.

'It's a historical deal (India-EU FTA) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced. It will be signed very soon, but the negotiations are concluded. It was a very difficult, long process of 18 years of negotiations for the free trade agreement between the EU and India. They call it the mother of all deals, because we know about how many free trade deals we're talking about these days,' said Sena Latif, the Ambassador of Romania.

She continued, 'But this is the most important one, bringing together 2 billion consumers, a quarter of the world, a third of the world's market. It's two huge partners that are bringing together their forces to have a common market, which is beneficial for all of us, and definitely for Romania and India as well.'

The India-EU FTA was jointly announced on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa at the 16th India-EU Summit, held during the visit of European leaders to India.

The documents related to the conclusion of the FTA were exchanged between EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. The announcement marks a historic milestone in India-EU economic relations and trade engagement with key global partners.

The FTA comes after intense negotiations following the re-launch of talks in 2022 and represents the culmination of years of sustained dialogue and cooperation between India and the EU. The agreement reflects the political will and shared vision of both sides to deliver a balanced, modern, and rules-based economic and trade partnership.

The European Union is one of India's largest trading partners, with bilateral trade in goods and services witnessing steady growth over the years.In 2024-25, India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at Rs 11.5 lakh crore (USD 136.54 billion), with exports valued at Rs 6.4 lakh crore (USD 75.85 billion) and imports at Rs 5.1 lakh crore (USD 60.68 billion). India-EU trade in services reached Rs 7.2 lakh crore (USD 83.10 billion) in 2024.

The integration of these two large, diverse, and complementary economies is expected to create unprecedented trade and investment opportunities, including in the pharmaceutical sector. (ANI)