AFP, New Delhi

The European Union (EU) and India yesterday announced the “mother of all deals”, a huge trade pact to create a market of two billion people, reached after two decades of negotiations.

EU chiefs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hope the pact will help shield against challenges from the world’s two leading economies, the United States and China.

The agreement will cut or eliminate tariffs on almost 97 percent of European exports, saving up to 4 billion euros ($4.75 billion) annually in duties, the 27-nation bloc said.

“A mother of all deals,” Modi said yesterday in the capital New Delhi, where he met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

“This deal will bring many opportunities for India’s 1.4 billion and many millions of people of the EU,” Modi said, adding the agreement “represents about 25 percent of global GDP, and one-third of global trade”.

The EU has eyed India -- the world’s most populous nation -- as an important market for the future.

“Europe and India are making history today,” von der Leyen said in a statement, a day after she and Costa were feted as guests of honour at India’s Republic Day parade. “We have created a free trade zone of two billion people, with both sides set to benefit.”

EU officials said the deal was the most ambitious India had ever agreed, and European companies would

SEE PAGE 5 COL 1