India and EU clinch the ‘mother of all deals’ in historic free trade agreement

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, welcomes European Council President Antonio Costa, left and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before their meeting in New Delhi (Manish Swarup/AP)

After nearly two decades of negotiations, India and the European Union have announced they have reached a free trade agreement to deepen economic and strategic ties.

The accord, which the EU chief described as the “mother of all deals”, could affect as many as 2 billion people.