India-EU trade pact to promote economic ties: CII

Rome: Signing of free trade agreement between India and the European Union would help promote economic ties between the region and New Delhi.

Vice President CII and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Ltd, Sanjiv Puri, emphasised that signing of India-EU free trade agreement could be a catalyst for further enhancing India-Italy relationship, the commerce ministry said in a statement.

He was speaking at the CEOs Business Interactive session organised here in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Confindustria on April 13.

He was accompanying commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal here.

Goyal had meetings with CEOs of some prominent Italian companies like SOL, SpA, Piaggio, CIBJO, Nayara Energy and Enel Green Power.

The minister explained to them the investment climate in India, the policy reforms and the potential of investing and expanding in India.

The CEOs informed the minister that they were looking at expanding operations in India for catering to the Indian markets as well as exports, the statement said.

This will not only lead to production expansion and employment generation but also increase exports from India, it added.