India and the European Union (EU) are to recommence their talks over a potential free trade agreement next month, it has been pledged.

An EU official has confirmed that discussions are to pick up again in Delhi in January 2016 following recent disagreements, with the first India-EU summit since 2012 to take place soon after in Brussels.

Newly-appointed EU ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski said: "The summit meeting will be held in the first half of 2016. We are now working on mutually convenient dates for the summit."

Key issues that have held up the initiation of new talks between the regions include the EU's recent decision to restrict the sale of around 700 generic drugs that had been clinically tested by an Indian firm, as well as diplomatic tensions following a 2012 incident in which two Indian fishermen were killed by Italian marines operating as part of an anti-piracy initiative.

However, Mr Kozlowski said the regions are now seeking to "open a new page", with a pact now being discussed to facilitate easier movement of people between India and the EU.