NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2012/ISSUE 10
EBTC and EBG welcome the EU Trade Commissioner, Karel de Gucht New Delhi, 9th February 2012
Mr. Karel de Gucht giving a speech during the cocktail reception held on his behalf by EBG and EBTC.
EBTC works closely and complimentarily to the European Business Group (EBG), and on the eve of the EU-India summit, EBG in collaboration with EBTC organized a cocktail reception to welcome the EU Trade Commissioner, Mr. Karel de Gucht on the 9th of February 2012. The event provided the ideal opportunity for informal networking between EU and Indian delegates from a range of industries and organizations. The evening began with a speech by Mr. Gucht, where he touched on the prospects and possibilities of an agreement that would be a breakthrough for both the India and the European Union. More than ever before, a deep and comprehensive ‘Free Trade Agreement’ (FTA) looks likely, with real value addition for all parties. He highlighted that traditionally, FTA focuses on tariffs for goods, for the non-agricultural market nexus, and agriculture, which constitutes 90% of all FTA’s. On the other hand, a great part of the value for forward looking economies, is in services. Services constitute 3/4th of the European economy, and services play a very important role for India as well. Breathing new air into business is not only important for a European business, but also important for the Indian business community. Opening up this economy to all new perspectives at the level of the continent, and at the level of the planet at large.
North-East Initiatives EBTC Kolkata is taking special steps to explore north east and other eastern region states. It has developed its initial touch points with all the states with further plans to initiate business development activities especially in the north eastern states of India from the forthcoming months.
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