New Delhi [India], January 28 (ANI): The finalisation of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to transform India into a global manufacturing hub for the chemicals sector, according to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The Minister highlighted that the strategic trade pact will unlock significant opportunities for domestic production and international supply chain integration.

Goyal shared details of a high-level meeting on X, stating, 'Delighted to welcome and hold an in-depth discussion with the global board of @BASF, led by Dr. Markus Kamieth on the historic day of the #IndiaEUTradeDeal. We deliberated on the vast opportunities India offers, driven by a robust and growing domestic market, a skilled workforce, and a young, aspirational nation. We also discussed our complementary strengths, BASF's operations in India, and the potential for India to emerge as a global hub for chemicals manufacturing.'

Apart from chemicals, the textile industry is projected to see a substantial surge in exports, with the potential to grow from the current USD 7 billion to approximately USD 30-40 billion.

Goyal, who addressed a joint press conference here after India-EU FTA was finalised on Tuesday, said the two sides agreeing to key initiatives across domains is a statement of deep partnership and the strategic intent.

He referred to queries about Bangladesh having a huge lead over India in terms of garment exports to EU and said the neighbouring country, has zero duty access being a least developed country (LDC), and was able to capture USD 30 billion out of the USD 250 billion textiles market of the European Union.

He indicated that once the FTA comes into force, India will be on par with Bangladesh in terms of duties.

'First of all, in terms of job creation, most of us here are aware that the textile industry in India is the second largest job creator after agriculture, with nearly 40 million jobs being created in the textile sector. India exports about USD 7 billion worth of textiles and garments to the EU every year, and the duty rates are anywhere up to 12% on the goods that we export to the EU,' he said. (ANI)