India and the EU have finalised a landmark free trade agreement, which the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed as the “mother of all deals”. The deal must be ratified by EU member states, the European parliament and the Indian cabinet before it enters into force. The security agreement has been described by the EU as a way to “advance alignment” after qualms about India’s ties with Russia. Modi called Tuesday’s deal the “biggest free trade deal in history”. As it attempts to diversify trading partners, the EU has also recently struck trade deals with South America’s Mercosur bloc, Indonesia and Switzerland.

Source: The Guardian January 27, 2026 15:33 UTC