A “successful India” is in the world’s interest, said visiting European Union leaders, as officials in New Delhi confirmed that negotiations for the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have been concluded.

“Official level negotiations are being concluded and both sides are all set to announce the successful conclusion of FTA talks on January 27,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters on Monday (January 26, 2026). 

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Separately, sources in the Commerce Ministry said that negotiations were concluded on Friday (January 23, 2026) and the deal was approved by both sides on Saturday (January 24, 2026). They added that the final text would be readied once it was “scrubbed” by the legal teams of both sides. 

The deal is part of a number of other agreements, including a Security and Defence Partnership, energy cooperation and a mobility agreement expected to be signed during the EU-India summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa on Tuesday (January 27, 2026).

The presence of the EU’s top leadership “underscores the growing strength of the India-European Union partnership and our commitment to shared values”, said Mr. Modi in a post outlooking the agreements.

On Monday (January 26, 2026), all the leaders attended the Republic Day parade, in which EU defence commanders took part for the first time, and EU Presidents were hosted at Rashtrapati Bhawan by President Droupadi Murmu. “A successful India makes the world more stable, prosperous and secure,” Ms. von der Leyen said in a post, adding that the world’s largest democracies Europe and India are committed to shaping “a new global order”.

The leaders witnessed the parade where India’s military hardware and marching contingents, particularly those involved in Operation Sindoor in May 2025 against Pakistan, were showcased. Significantly, much of the hardware that Ms. von der Leyen and Mr. Costa witnessed in the parade was Russian-made or designed and has been sanctioned under various EU sanction packages since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“An opportunity to recall the importance of the action of the EU Naval Forces to enhance maritime security and protect the freedom of navigation, in particular in the Indo Pacific,” Mr. Costa said on social media, steering clear of any contentious references to the war in Europe.

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The EU-India FTA conclusion marks the end of a two-decades-old process, after talks were first launched in 2007. The talks have faltered on a number of occasions, particularly over seemingly irreconcilable issues like market access for “sensitive” European agricultural and dairy items, environmental regulations, investment and immigration. After a freeze on talks between 2014 and 2022, the talks were relaunched with more pragmatic goals, and both sides have reportedly agreed to set aside sectors where they failed to find common ground. Once the FTA is announced on Tuesday, officials will complete the legal scrubbing, and it will be sent to all 27 EU states after being translated, before it is ratified by the European Parliament.

With bilateral trade already crossing $136 billion, the sources also said that this would be “one of the biggest” bilateral deals in the world. Unlike ASEAN countries, the EU acts as a single customs bloc, they explained. The EU has FTAs with eight countries and has signed an FTA with the South American bloc MERCOSUR earlier this month. Both India and the EU are also expected to upgrade their strategic partnership, first concluded in 2004, and upgrade defence cooperation and military engagement in areas including maritime security, cyber security and counter-terrorism.

The first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, is likely to take place in early November, according to the Russian embassy. However, this is yet to be confirmed by the Indian government.

In addition, the next two months are going to see rounds of negotiations for FTAs between India and the EU, Chile, Peru, and a review of the FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In a statement, the Embassy of Russia in India said that the Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrey Slepnev met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on September 15.

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“The Ministers agreed on an approach under which the first round of negotiations is set to take place in early November this year in India and focus on discussing the core aspects of the future deal,” the statement said. “It will be preceded by intensive consultations between the Commission, Indian partners, and the EAEU Member States.”

The Indian government, however, has not confirmed the date of the first round of negotiations.

According to a source in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the next round of negotiations for the FTA between India and the European Union will take place on October 6-10.

A second source, close to the negotiations, said that “almost all” issues pertaining to India-EU FTA have been resolved, and that an early harvest deal could also be on the cards. This comes at a time when the EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič last week said that the two sides will meet the December-end deadline for the conclusion of negotiations on the full FTA.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) posted on X that “we are committed to finalising our trade agreement [with India] by the end of the year”.

The sources in the Ministry further confirmed that the next rounds of negotiations on the India-Chile FTA would take place on October 27-31 , and for the India-Peru FTA on November 3-5.

Further, the next meeting to review the FTA with the ASEAN countries is expected on 6-7 October, with the source saying that the review is “expected to be concluded by year-end”.