New Delhi: India and Germany have agreed to deepen efforts to resume stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU), a joint statement said on Friday.
The statement was issued after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel here.
"Both sides confirmed the importance of a balanced free trade agreement between India and the EU and agreed to deepen efforts to restart negotiations between the EU and India on the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)," the statement said.
Seventeen agreements have been signed between India and Germany in the fields of agriculture, maritime technology, Ayurveda and yoga among others, the External Affairs Ministry said.
The negotiations for the pact have been held up since May 2013 as both the sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues.
Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed BTIA have witnessed many hurdles with both the sides having major differences on key issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime.
Both the sides also agreed to intensify efforts for an early conclusion of an investment protection agreement between the EU, the EU member states and India.
With regard to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they emphasised that efforts should be made to restore the full functioning of WTO dispute settlement system and reform the organisation without undermining its fundamental principles such as special and differential treatment, consensus-based decision making and development objectives.
For this, both the countries will strive to make the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Nursultan, Kazakhstan a success, it said.
The two countries also expressed their willingness to intensify their efforts to bridge the gap between the demand and shortage of skilled workforce.
"Both leaders welcomed the resumption of the Indo-German Finance Ministries Senior Officials' Meeting...Prominent issues in this year's exchange were, amongst others, the financial and insurance sector as well as the tax challenges arising from digitalization," it added.
Further, they encouraged their respective business enterprises to enter into arrangements for co-development and co-production of commercial aviation in India, including the transfer of know-how and technologies.
Recognising that AI (artificial intelligence) will fundamentally impact the way the world lives and works in the coming years, the two leaders intend to work together to foster, encourage and develop cooperation on AI technologies and promote innovation.
"Germany and India agreed on working together closely to conduct joint bilateral and/or multilateral research and development activities on the development and use of AI," the statement said.
It said that German and Indian digital companies will jointly work towards enhancing the scope of market opportunity and bilateral investments.
The two sides underlined the importance of rapid convergence of start-up ecosystems in both the countries and welcomed initiatives that allow entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and share projects.
"Germany and India agreed on consulting each other on identifying best possible approaches on cybersecurity and also device methods to identify areas of mutual cooperation in this regard," it said.
Germany has told India it can play a key role in doubling farmers' income as the European nation has the expertise in farm mechanisation and post-harvest management, the government said on Friday.
German Food and Agriculture Minister Julia Klockner met her Indian counterpart Narendra Singh Tomar and discussed various issues on the agriculture sector.
The minister also mentioned that the Agriculture Export Policy 2018 aims to double agriculture exports to USD 60 million by 2022.
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