Luxembourg Deputy PM Xavier Bettel on India-EU FTA, business ties

FTA deal is done by EU but companies need to see opportunities: Luxembourg Deputy PM Xavier Bettel on India-EU FTA

By Ayushi Agarwal, New Delhi, September 7

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Bettel said that while the FTA has been negotiated by the European Union (EU), its benefits would ultimately depend on companies identifying and pursuing opportunities in the respective markets.

"The FTA, the deal is done by the EU, but afterwards, it's important to see the opportunities in the markets, because in the end national companies, which are EU companies, are going to sign," Bettel said.

He said he plans to bring a business delegation during his visit to India, with the aim of facilitating direct engagement between the Indian and Luxembourgish business communities.

"I hope that my business community will be able to meet the Indian business community in January or February, and that the Indian business community will be able to meet the Luxembourgish business community, and they will see all the opportunities they have," Bettel said.

He stressed that governments need to create a framework that makes business exchanges easier and provides the necessary guarantees. "But we need to bring them together and to have a framework to make it easier to exchange, and to have securities and guarantees. And this is what we have to prepare as politicians," he said.

Asked about the next frontier in Luxembourg-India ties and whether Luxembourg could become a larger gateway for Indian businesses in Europe, Bettel pointed to startups, education, transportation, logistics and satellites as areas with further potential.

"When we talk about starting or growing, I think about startups. I think there is an opportunity also to see," he said.

Bettel said Luxembourg also plans to hold a state visit to India in the coming months and wants the visit to produce concrete outcomes. "And so also to see how we can deepen the relations with students, with education, with transportation, with logistics, with the satellites. And as you said, relations are there, but there is also always a possibility to make them bigger," he said.

"And that's exactly what we want from both sides, that when we have the state visit in India, we are also able to have deliverables. I think it's important for both of us," he added.

On the movement of skilled Indian professionals to Luxembourg, Bettel said the issue had been discussed and highlighted the significant presence of the Indian community in the country.

"If you go once to Luxembourg, you will see the Amazonians. The Amazonians are the only people working for Amazon. And they are a lot of Indians," he said.

Bettel noted that the Indian community is the 10th biggest community in Luxembourg and has a significant presence among students at the country's universities.

"Next week I have the Indian Day in Luxembourg. So we have a big Indian community. You know, you have to know that the Indian community is the 10th biggest in my country. So, it's a big, big community. We have students. It's also one of the biggest communities at the university. Non-European, one of the biggest for sure at the university," he said.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel at Hyderabad House in the national capital and held bilateral talks with Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister.

The remarks come as Bettel is on a three-day official visit to India, from September 7 to September 9.

The Deputy PM will also visit Chennai for engagements at IIT Madras and the inauguration of a new SES campus.

— ANI