‘Free trade for aspirational youth, ambitious and Atmanirbhar India’: PM Modi lauds India-EU FTA

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), describing it as “Free Trade for Ambitious India, for Aspirational Youth, and for Aatmanirbhar India.”

Addressing the media ahead of the Budget Session 2026, he expressed confidence that Indian manufacturers would utilise the agreement to strengthen their capabilities, calling the FTA a major step toward building a confident, competitive, and productive India.

“This Free Trade for Ambitious India, Free Trade for Aspirational Youth, Free Trade for Aatmanirbhar India. I am confident that, especially the manufacturers of India, will use this opportunity to enhance their capabilities. I am very confident that in a way this is a major step in the direction of confident, competitive and productive India,” said the Prime Minister.

#WATCH | Budget session | PM Narendra Modi says, “The President’s Address yesterday was the expression of the trust of 140 crore Indians, an account of their capability and of the sketch of their aspirations, especially of the youth. For all MPs, the President also said several… pic.twitter.com/bxJ7R4qBNc

— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2026

PM Modi said India’s democracy and demography have become a source of hope for the world and stressed the importance of sending a strong message to the global community through Parliament, which he described as the “temple of democracy”.

“India’s democracy and demography is a big hope to the world today. This is an opportunity to send across a message to the global community through this temple of democracy – of our capability, of our dedication to democracy, of honouring the decisions made through democratic processes. The world welcomes and accepts this. Today, the country is advancing. This is not the time for obstruction. This is the time for solution. Today, the priority is not obstruction, but solution…I urge all MPs to come and let us speed up and strengthen the era of important solutions for the country. We should go ahead towards last mile delivery,” the Prime Minister said.

#WATCH | Budget session | PM Narendra Modi says, “The country is coming out of long-term pending problems and confidently walking the path of long-term solutions…In all our decisions, the progress of the country is our goal. But all our decisions are human-centric, our role and… pic.twitter.com/oIinBmF8lL

— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2026

Urging cooperation in Parliament, the Prime Minister added that the country must prioritise solutions over obstruction. “Even colleagues who have an attitude of disliking us, which is natural in democracy, and everyone else says that this government has laid emphasis on last mile delivery. We make efforts to bring schemes not just to files but to lives. We have to take this tradition forward through next-gen reforms in ‘Reforms Express,” the Prime Minister said.

India and the European Union on Tuesday inked several key agreements and Memorandums of Understanding in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Notably, both sides also agreed on a strategy document titled ‘Towards 2030-A Joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda,’ reflecting the expanding scope of India-EU strategic cooperation. India and the EU exchanged several agreements and MoUs, reflecting the wide-ranging, multifaceted cooperation as part of the India-EU Strategic Cooperation.

Among the agreements exchanged was the political declaration on the conclusion of negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic.

The India-EU Security and Defence Partnership document was signed by EU Vice President Kaja Kallas and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while the comprehensive framework on mobility was signed by Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, and EAM Jaishankar, highlighting the wide-ranging and multifaceted nature of India-EU strategic cooperation. (ANI)