German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday (October 25) reiterated his economy minister’s comments on pushing for swift progress on talks for a free-trade agreement between India and the European Union during his keynote address at the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference in New Delhi, Reuters reports.

 

Adding that if they would work on the agreement together, “this could happen in months, rather than years,” Scholz said.

 

India and the EU agreed in 2022 to relaunch talks on a free trade agreement, initially aiming to complete talks by the end of 2023, but have failed to make significant progress on a deal, with India blaming “irrational” standards set by the EU as one of the reasons.

 

The visit of the Scholz and his delegation, which comprises most of his cabinet, comes at a delicate time for Germany, whose export-oriented economy faces a second year of contraction and worries over a trade dispute between the European Union and China that could rebound on German companies.