NEW DELHI, December 4. /TASS/. The negotiations that have started between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are a positive development that will open up new opportunities for trade, Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said.

"India-Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement negotiations, which we have started recently, last week, <…> is a step in the right direction, which will open up a host of new opportunities for businesses to trade more with each other," he said at the Russia-India Business Forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The agreement is expected to inject "long-term predictability into the economic landscape on both sides, long term productivity on tariffs, and also a pathway to resolve non-tariff barriers, so that businesses can take long-term risks, long-term bets on each other's markets," Agrawal added.

At the 22nd Russia-India summit, which took place in Moscow on July 8-9, 2024, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia, a joint statement was signed. It stated, among other things, that Moscow and New Delhi had agreed to explore the creation of an EAEU-India free trade zone.

In August of this year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk stated that negotiations on the issue had intensified. The EAEU's free trade agreement with India is part of a larger effort to strengthen continental connectivity in Eurasia and improve the business environment on the continent, he noted.