PASCAL LAMY TO MEET ARUN JAITLEY TOMORROW
The European Union
(EU) Trade Commissioner, Mr. Pascal Lamy, is scheduled to meet
Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and
Law & Justice, here tomorrow morning. The discussions will
cover important bilateral and multilateral trade issues. Market
access for Indian and European exports will figure in the talks,
including textiles and agriculture. Mr. Lamy is on a two-day visit
to India beginning today.
India-EU economic
relations, especially trade relations, are important for both
the trading partners. Bilateral trade between India and the EU
currently is of the order of US $ 20 billion annually. While the
EU is India’s number one trading partner as a group, India ranks
20th as EU’s global trading partner. Bilateral trade,
therefore, needs to be enhanced by intensifying and broadening
the trade basket. India’s exports to the EU during April-October
2002-03 amounted to US $ 6379.01 million, indicating a growth
of over 12% compared to the corresponding period of 2001-02. On
the other hand, India’s imports from the EU during the same period
are valued at US $ 7001.77 million, showing a growth of 22.73%
over the corresponding period (April-October) 2001-02.
