Last Updated:September 29, 2025, 19:24 IST

Goyal said the deal, which was finalised in March 2024, marks another major step in India’s global trade strategy

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal (Image: PTI/File)

India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries — Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland — will officially come into effect from 1 October 2025, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal announced on Monday.

Speaking at the valedictory session of the UP International Trade Show, Goyal said the deal, which was finalised in March 2024, marks another major step in India’s global trade strategy.

“Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), which was finalised in March 2024, will come into effect from October 1, 2025,” he said, referring to the EFTA bloc.

This agreement adds to a growing list of trade pacts signed by India in recent years, including with the UAE, Australia, and the UK. Goyal said India is currently negotiating similar agreements with 27 other countries, including the United States, the European Union and Peru. He also confirmed that terms for a pact with the Eurasian Economic Union have already been finalised.

“Countries around the world, including developed nations, are eager to sign free trade agreements with India,” he said.

The minister also spoke about the transformation of India’s economy since 2014. He noted that foreign exchange reserves have reached USD 700 billion, nearly three times more than what the current government inherited. He predicted that within the next two years, India would become a USD 5 trillion economy, making it the third largest economy in the world.

Highlighting recent economic performance, Goyal said India’s GDP grew 7.8% in the last quarter, while inflation dropped to 2%, the lowest since independence. “In the last ten years under Prime Minister Modi, India has seen the lowest average inflation,” he said.

Reflecting on the state of the economy in 2014, he reminded the audience that India was once labelled as part of the “Fragile Five” economies.

“Earlier, government resources like 2G spectrum, coal mines, iron ore mines, contracts, used to be handed over to relatives, associates, or party members. Modi ji ensured that everything is now given only through transparent auctions,” Goyal added.

(With inputs from ANI)

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