India and Norway's Roadmap for Enhanced Bilateral Trade and Investment
India and Norway are seeking to enhance their investment and trade relationship, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday following a meeting with Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide.
The leaders discussed avenues for increasing economic cooperation and enhancing cooperation in sectors of importance.
When they met, they emphasized enhancing labor mobility and skill development, which had the potential to unlock new opportunities for the two nations.
"India and Norway have the potential to really boost trade ties and have an ambitious goal of taking bilateral trade to ten times in a decade", Goyal said.
The Indian Minister also underlined the importance of the EFTA-TEPA (European Free Trade Association - Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement) and its investment commitments, underlining its value to the India-Norway trade relationship.
"Talked strengthening our bilateral trade and investment relations, increasing cooperation in skill development & mobility of workforce, importance of EFTA-TEPA and its investment obligations", Goyal tweeted.
The ministers discussed critical current global trade challenges, WTO modernization, and shifting economic and geopolitical developments.
They renewed their commitment to strengthening high-level business interactions that can propel collective development and economic development.
The Union Minister also asked the businesspeople of both countries to work diligently towards meeting the objective.
On its part, the EFTA has pledged to support investments with the objective of adding $100 billion to the stock of foreign direct investments in India over the next 15 years, and facilitating the creation of 1 million direct jobs in India, through such investments.
The investments do not include foreign portfolio investments. The EFTA is providing 92.2 per cent of its tariff lines that account for 99.6 per cent of India's exports to the region.
The market access offer of the EFTA includes 100 per cent of non-agri goods and tariff concession on Processed Agricultural Products (PAP).
India is making available 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines encompassing 95.3 per cent of the EFTA exports out of which over 80 per cent imports consist of gold under the pact.
