India visit by European Commission president unprecedented: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the unprecedented visit of the

European Commission president

and the College of Commissioners to India will conclude a long-pending free trade agreement between the European Union and India by this year's end.
"This is not just the first India visit by the European Commission, but also its first such comprehensive engagement in any country. This is also among the first foreign visits of the Commission's new regime," PM Modi said.

"This is one of the early visits of the (European) Commission's new tenure. Over two decades of strategic partnership between India and the EU is natural and organic, and in its foundation are trust and democratic values ... We have had sincere and meaningful discussions, yesterday on various issues. We have asked our teams to work on a mutually benefit Free Trade Agreement and to realise it by the end of this year," PM Modi said.