Momentum In India-EU Relations
The recent visit of the European Commission delegation to India was unprecedented, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi put it. The scale of talks was staggering: 22 EU commissioners and 20 Indian ministers. There were full-on conversations at multiple levels, says Hervé Delphin. This visit heralds a new momentum in India-EU relations, he told StratNews Global.
Not that ties were in bad shape but we want to take it to a new level, he added. “We see 2025 as the year of India-EU relations and expect more engagements, follow-up visits this year. Also, discussions on the future roadmap for cooperation. And that should culminate by the end of the year with the EU-India summit that will be held in Delhi.”
Ambassador Delphin outlines three key areas that hold promise for collaboration with regard to India-EU relations.
Economic Agenda
The first area without any doubt is economic cooperation, according to him. Both the EU and India represent 25% of global GDP. “Currently, the EU is the largest trading partner of India, ahead of China and the U.S. In goods, we are the first; in services, I think we are in the top 3 or 4 but together we are close to 200 billion two-way trade.”
PM Modi and President Ursula von der Leyen have said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) must be concluded by the year-end. The 10th round of talks took place in Brussels last week and the next round is slated for early-May. One has to see this as the largest ever FTA that both sides will sign up to, says the EU envoy.
The Trade and Technology Council is a key element of the economic agenda. The EU has only two such arrangements, one with the US and the other with India, he adds.
It’s a platform for cooperation in technology and that covers research, innovation to market uptake in the digital domain as also cutting edge technologies.
Defence And Security
This spans various layers with consultations on how both sides assess the security and threat landscape. There have been discussions on cyber security, maritime security and counter-terrorism. Now, we want to expand the cooperation to new areas like space and AI, and exchange best practices, says the envoy.
Geopolitics And Global Partnerships
In a world of transformation, transition and turbulence, we see the EU and India as stabilizing forces, forces for good, says Ambassador Delphin. Both are very much aligned in what we want: a rules-based order, he adds. “We want a cooperative order and are not for aggressive agendas but for peace. We want to connect to global commons on sustainable development, sustainable finance, climate agenda and biodiversity.”
