MUMBAI: Both India and the European Union need to show flexibility when it comes to negotiating the ambitious bilateral free trade agreement, Italy’s Ambassador to India, Antonio Bartoli said on Friday. Bartoli said a new European Commission has been elected last week and hoped for the talks to start again and build on the progress done on the ambitious agreement over the last two years when the negotiations had resumed. He was speaking to PTI in Mumbai after inaugurating the Villaggio Italia exposition, being held alongside the port call of Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian Navy ship used for training and supporting national diplomacy. Amid fears of higher tariffs by the US next year, Bartoli said President-elect Donald Trump does not pose an excessive problem for India, adding that if higher tariff is slapped on Chinese goods, it will create a competitive advantage for India as well. Bartoli said the India-Italy trade has zoomed to USD 14 billion annually, including USD 9 billion of Indian exports to Italy, since the Covid-19 pandemic and there is a good opportunity to grow it. He identified high duties as among the impediments for the growth of trade, and underlined that the FTA becomes important in this context. The Indian side is also waiting for European Commission’s new President Ursula von der Leyen’s term to so that the negotiations begin and also progress is made on the Indo-EU summit, Bartoli said. We hope that both parties can show more flexibility (in negotiations), he said, stressing that open markets are very important. He also said that agricultural commodities are red lines for the 27-nation EU bloc as they are an important constituent of their economies, and also affirmed backing efforts on protecting geographical indication. Amerigo Vespucci’s port of call at Mumbai as part of a two-year-long global voyage is a very important step which will help the bilateral relations between India and Italy deepen further, he said. Bartoli said this is the first time the ship, commissioned in the 1930s, is anchoring at an Indian port, and added that this is the third visit by an Italian vessel to India in quick succession. We are at an unprecedented phase in bilateral ties, the diplomat said, pointing to a set of agreements signed between the heads of states of the two countries earlier this month which talk of cooperation across sectors including trade, investments, energy transition, space, defence, mobility and security. Italy can offer its expertise in machinery to aid India’s ambitions on the manufacturing front, he said, adding that the European country can greatly benefit from India’s labour force. People-to-people contact is a key focus area of the bilateral partnership, Bartoli said, adding that the visiting vessel is also open for the public to see. There is a lot in common between India and Italy, which makes them natural allies, he said. PTI
