‘Only the beginning,’ Says EU Chief after India-EU concludes negotiations on ‘mother of all deals’ | World News

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday announced that India and the European Union (EU) have completed negotiations on the “mother of all agreements”. He added that this is just the beginning and both sides are committed to further strengthening their strategic relationship.

Praising the India-EU trade agreement, von der Leyen said that the agreement will create a free trade area covering approximately two billion people and will benefit both sides economically and strategically.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post about

Following the successful conclusion of negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the official signing of the agreement will take place after the completion of legal text review and this process is expected to take approximately five to six months.

ANI quoted Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal as saying, “The formal agreement signing will take place after legal scrutiny. The agreement will be balanced, forward-looking and will help in better economic integration with the EU. The agreement will increase trade and investment between both parties. The agreement will come into force next year. The legal clearance of the text will take 5-6 months, the official signing will be done after that.”

With the completion of the India-EU FTA, India became the third Asian country to have a trade agreement with the European Union, after Japan and South Korea.

Europe and India are making history today.

We made the mother of all deals.

We have created a free trade zone for two billion people that will benefit both sides.

This is just the beginning.

We will further strengthen and grow our strategic relationship. pic.twitter.com/C7L1kQQEtr— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 27, 2026

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the deal and said it would provide a significant boost to India’s manufacturing sector, expand services and boost investor confidence.

Prime Minister Modi said, “Manufacturing will get a huge boost from this trade agreement with the EU and the services sector will also expand. The Free Trade Agreement will increase the confidence of every investor and businessman to invest in India.” he said.

Prime Minister Modi added that the free trade agreement with the EU will build on and complement India’s existing trade agreements with the United Kingdom and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).