Germany today said there is a need to do away with the existing "investment protection agreement" between India and the European Union (EU) and start afresh on the subject under the framework of Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).
The European nation also expects the stalled discussions on the Free Trade Agreement to resume by the end of the current year.
German Ambassador to India Martin Ney also said the decision of Britain to exit the EU has not impacted much in terms of investments.
"Yes there is movement (in FTA talks). Since one year, when both Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Markel met... they are in favour of resuming the negotiations on free trade agreement," Ney told reporters at a press conference.
"It was realised by both sides India and the European Union that there is a definite need for modern investment protection agreement. The bilateral investment protection agreement that do exist at the moment is somewhat outdated. It needs fresh look at the legal routes," he said.
"Both sides realise the need for that and so the commissioner of the European Union had written to the counterpart in the Indian Government and offered to resume the negotiations. From my talks with the Indian Government, I hear quite favourable responses and so I am quite optimistic that by the end of the year we might see resumption of negotiations on Free Trade Agreement," Ney said.
Cyient Ltd Founder and Executive Chairman and former Nasscom Chairman BVR Mohan Reddy was appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany today.
The appointment was officially announced in the presence of Martin Ney, and Consul General for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Telangana (residing in Chennai) Achim Fabig and other dignitaries.
On the bilateral trade between India and Germany, he said his country is the sixth largest partner of India and the largest trading partner in EU.
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