India and United States in final stages of interim free trade agreement
New Delhi: India and the United States are in the final stages of concluding an interim free trade agreement, the government said on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Evian, France.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that “significant progress” had already been made on the bilateral trade pact. He said both leaders had once again instructed officials to finalise the agreement at the earliest.
“Next week, US Trade Representative Jameson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions. In the bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and President Trump yesterday, this was a major subject of discussion,” Misri said.
On the US-Iran interim peace agreement, Misri said India expects the deal to lead to sustained peace and stability in the region. He acknowledged natural concerns about the agreement, to which Israel is not a party, and stated that India is ready to do whatever it can to address next steps.
When asked whether India would nudge Israel to accept the peace terms, Misri said India is not a party to the conflict and would leave it to the parties concerned to decide how to arrive at arrangements to terminate the conflict and find a roadmap forward.
