EU & India establish IFM

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : European Union (EU) and India on July 14, 2017, announced the establishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU Investments in India. The mechanism will allow for a close coordination between the European Union and the Government of India with a view to promoting and facilitating  EU investment in India.

This agreement builds on the Joint Statement of the 13^th EU-India Summit held in Brussels in March 2016, where the EU had welcomed India’s readiness to establish such a mechanism and leaders from both sides had reaffirmed their shared commitment to oppose protectionism and to work in favour of a fair, transparent and rule-based trade and investment environment, according to a PIB release.

As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, agreed to hold regular high level meetings to assess and facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in India. This will include identifying and putting in place solutions to procedural impediments faced by EU companies and investors in establishing or running their operations in India, according to the PIB release.

Stressing the importance of this initiative, Tomasz Koslowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India, said, ” The establishment of the Investment Facilitation Mechanism is a right step in the direction of strengthening the trade and investment ties between the EU and India. The EU is the largest foreign investor in India and this initiative helps ensuring a more robust, effective and predictable business environment for the EU investors. At the last Summit in March 2016, leaders of both sides decided to create a new momentum in our relations. We are delivering on this.”

DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said, “Ease of doing business is a fundamental priority of our Government’s Make in India Campaign and the establishment of IFM for facilitating EU investments in India is another step to achieve this goal.