<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States have taken significant steps towards a new Trade and Partnership Agreement.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">In a Ministerial meeting held in Brussels today, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal discussed the modalities of engagement with the representatives of EFTA for working towards a comprehensive new Trade and Partnership Agreement (TEPA).</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">The Ministerial meeting marked a significant milestone in taking forward the negotiations on a TEPA between India and European Free Trade Association.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Both sides emphasised the importance of building their discussions on principles of trust and respect for each other's sensitivities to achieve a fair, equitable and balanced agreement.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;">The delegations agreed to ramp up their efforts and continue their discussions at a steady pace, to arrive at a common understanding on critical issues pertaining to TEPA.</span></p>