New Delhi, June 1 -- New Delhi: Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal began a three-day official visit to France on Sunday as part of a five-day European trip that will also take him to Italy. The focus of the visit is to strengthen India's economic ties with key European partners and push the ongoing India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) talks, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The visit comes as India expands its global trade engagements through several bilateral and regional negotiations, while trying to position itself as a trusted partner in a rules-based global trading system, it said.

Goyal's trip is seen as part of India's broader strategy to attract more investment, build technology partnerships and...