Trade deals: India and EU resume negotiations; Qatar FTA may be announced next month

India is set to accelerate its trade negotiations with many nations as a series of bilateral engagements is lined up this week.Fresh rounds of negotiations with the European Union began today as an EU team arrived in New Delhi and discussions opened formally, sources told ANI.Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to meet the EU’s trade commissioner on Friday to review the progress on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), according to a senior government official.Talks with several other partners are also under way. A source noted that negotiations with New Zealand, Chile and Peru are also “progressing well”.Dialogue with Qatar has moved into an advanced stage, with both sides expected to settle the terms of reference for a potential FTA by early next month. Sources cited by ANI added that Goyal may travel to the country in the first week of October to advance the process.Over the last five years, India has concluded a string of trade pacts. These include the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) in 2021; the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022; the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) in 2024; and the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed in 2025, which has yet to take effect.The EFTA agreement is expected to come into force later this year once ratified by all parties, ANI reported.At the same time, India continues to pursue several other deals, including the India-EU FTA, the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), the India-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement, the India-Peru FTA, the India-Chile CEPA, the India-New Zealand FTA, and a bilateral trade arrangement with the United States.India also recently wrapped up negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement with Oman, which began in 2023.