The developments till the 8th Round of the negotiations of the India-EU Broad based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) were also discussed. India raised the issue of asymmetry of tariff liberalization in favour of India, given the differing levels of development between India and EU.

During a meeting with Mr Karel De Gucht, the European Trade Commissioner who called on him here today, Shri Sharma affirmed India's commitment for protection of biodiversity and traditional knowledge for sharing the benefits and underscored India's stand on protection of IPRs by stating that the agreement needs to reflect these issues. During the meeting, wide ranging issues of international trade, global recession, trends of recovery and economic cooperation were discussed. EU suggested that India needs to expand its offer list to include pressing requirements from the EU side. Both sides felt that an early conclusion of this agreement by 2010 would result in accrual of greater rewards than those being anticipated today, as trade is a dynamic phenomenon. Thus, an early conclusion to a forward looking agreement should be aimed at by both sides.

Shri Sharma highlighted the need for greater investments from EU into India , especially in infrastructure and agro processing sectors, which received an enthusiastic response from EU side. The ministers agreed to meet ahead of the next India-EU summit to take stock of the progress on ongoing negotiations and give it the necessary political direction. The EU Trade Commissioner exchanged views with Shri Sharma on the progress of the negotiations of the Doha Round of WTO after its re-energization through mini-Ministerial at New Delhi. Both underlined the need to take the talks forward with the active involvement of all major economies in the world. The political leadership should come together before the next round of G-20 to provide guidance for resolution of the pending issues and substantive progress in the negotiations.

Shri Sharma also highlighted the need for fast tracking negotiations on the services agreement, in which India has strong interests.