Trade Minister Piyush Goyal to visit Switzerland on EFTA's $100-billion FDI promise

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

Trade Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Switzerland on July 14 to hold talks around the $100-billion investment promise made to India as part of the trade deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The Union government on March 10, signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with EFTA nations that weaved in a commitment to facilitate through private companies' foreign direct investment in India in the next 15 years.

"I am off to Switzerland on Sunday to take forward the EFTA commitment of $100 billion in FDI investment and thereby a million jobs due to that investment," Goyal said on July 10, adding that India could get more than the committed amount, if the country is more forthcoming.

"They (EFTA nations) will look for Indian partners, Indian markets, Indian investors," Goyal added.

As per the trade pact inked between the two sides, the EFTA states will aim to increase foreign direct investment from investors of these nations into India by $50 billion within 10 years from the entry into force of this agreement and an additional $50 billion in the next five years.

The EFTA states will also look to facilitate generation of one million jobs within 15 years in India from the time the agreement comes into force, which would be a consequence of the commitment on foreign direct investment inflows.

To be sure, the investments from EFTA nations are expected to flow in from private firms and the commitment is not a governmental guarantee but rather a governmental initiative to nudge businesses towards investing in India.

However, as per the trade deal, the investment promised by EFTA states will hinge on India maintaining a nominal GDP growth rate of around 9.5 percent in US dollar terms in the next 15 years, which is in line with the South Asian nation's past growth rates, as well as on the anticipated benefits of a full implementation of the agreement.