‘At record speed’: European Commission President Ursula vows to sign India-EU trade deal by year-end

The Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union will unlock new opportunities for industries, investors, and innovators, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Gothenburg on Sunday, as Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, vowed to sign the deal by the end of this year and operationalise it “at record speed”.

 She also said that the EU would move fast to ink an investment agreement with India next.

 “We are committed to signing the agreement by the end of the year and making it fully operational at record speed,” von der Leyen said, adding: “The trade agreement opened the door; an investment agreement walks us through this door”.

She joined Modi and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Gothenburg to address journalists just before a meeting of the industry leaders of Europe.

 India and the EU announced the conclusion of the negotiations for the FTA on January 27 when Modi hosted von der Leyen and the European Council president António Luís Santos da Costa.

Modi arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday after concluding his visit to the Netherlands. The Swedish Gripen fighter jets escorted his Air India One since it entered the country’s airspace till it landed in Gothenburg.

 He and Kristersson reviewed the full spectrum of India-Sweden relations and agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership. He and Prime Minister Rob Jetten of the Netherlands had earlier in the day agreed to similarly upgrade the Indo-Dutch relations.

The prime ministers of India and Sweden discussed ways to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, technology and innovation, green transition, space, emerging technologies, defence and security, SMEs, research and people-to-people ties.

The bilateral trade reached $7.75 billion in 2025. The two leaders agreed to identify new opportunities in the spirit of the India-EU Strategic Partnership and the recently concluded India-EU FTA for the benefit of their peoples, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

Kristersson appreciated the strides being made by India in the field of digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence. Modi invited further Swedish participation in India’s growth story.

 “In today's tense global environment, close cooperation between democracies like India and Sweden holds special significance... India and Sweden agree that terrorism poses a grave challenge to all of humanity,” Modi said after he met Kristersson. The two leaders later also had a tripartite meeting with von der Leyen.

“Our cooperation in the defence sector is continuously expanding. The establishment of production facilities in India by Swedish companies stands as a testament to the fact that we are moving beyond a mere buyer-seller relationship towards a long-term industrial partnership,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister highlighted India’s rapid economic transformation driven by reform, strong domestic demand, digital public infrastructure, manufacturing expansion and next-generation infrastructure development.

He invited Swedish companies to enhance their presence in India under initiatives such as Make in India, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the National Critical Mineral Mission and expanding opportunities in sectors including clean energy, defence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.

 Modi met Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of Maersk. “We discussed the great opportunities in India and increased investments, particularly in sectors such as port infrastructure, logistics, and more,” he posted on X.