India signed a free trade pact on Sunday with a group of European nations – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein –committing to reduce tariffs, while New Delhi receives $100 billion in investments over the next 15 years.

India and the members

India and the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held 21 rounds of talks over 16 years to clinch the broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement.

India expects that the pact, following deals with the UAE and Australia, will boost exports of pharmaceuticals, garments, chemicals and machinery while attracting investments in automobiles, food processing, railways and the financial sector.

India is the EFTA’s fifth-largest trading partner after the European Union, the United States, Britain and China, with total two-way trade touching $25 billion in 2023, its trade ministry estimates.

India’s exports to the EFTA touched $2.8 billion and imports were about $22 billion during that period.