European Commission and India to finalize trade pact by year's end
By the end of the year, the European Commission plans to finalize a free trade agreement with India. The EU also intends to strengthen cooperation with Delhi in the technology, defence, and security sectors, announced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, summarizing a two-day visit of commissioners to the country.
On Thursday and Friday, von der Leyen and the commissioners talked in Delhi with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government ministers about strengthening bilateral cooperation. This was the first visit of the Commission to India in history and its first trip outside Europe since the beginning of the term in December.
This is a very outstanding event, and they say that this event signals growth and transformation, and that's exactly the moment we find ourselves in. The planets are aligned, and so are India and Europe – emphasized the Commission President at a press conference.
Modi added that the last two days were filled with over 20 ministerial meetings with EU commissioners, dedicated to various sectors of cooperation. "We have prepared a blueprint for collaboration in the areas of Trade, Technology, Investment, Innovation, Green Growth, Security, Skilling and Mobility. We have directed our teams to conclude a mutually beneficial Bilateral Free Trade Agreement by the end of this year," he enumerated.
Economic growth
Von der Leyen announced that EU cooperation with India will focus on three areas. The first is economic growth.
- Europe is already India's biggest trading partner. Last year alone, we exchanged about 120 billion Euro (220 billion Canadian dollars), and over the past two decades, our trade has tripled. One of the best examples of this partnership is the new Federation of European Businesses in India. It brings together 6,000 EU companies which have created 8 million direct and indirect jobs in this economy," she said.
The Commission President and the Indian Prime Minister also announced the finalization of free trade agreement talks between the EU and India by the end of the year. Von der Leyen emphasized that the current geopolitical situation more than ever requires decisive action; she announced that both sides want to join efforts in the research, innovation, and market growth sectors.
- This allows us to tackle important economic challenges together and to build robust and diverse supply chains, such as, for example, in semiconductors, a very important topic we have been working intensively on," she noted.
Digital cooperation
The second area of cooperation highlighted is technology, including in 6G, computerization, clean technologies, bioinformatics, as well as artificial intelligence and its use in combating natural disasters or climate change. - Our digital cooperation has also an ambitious industrial agenda. We're committed to strengthen cooperation in semiconductor R&D and manufacturing, and we are cooperating in the culture of secure telecommunication networks," said von der Leyen.
As she added, technology is only as useful as the people who use it, hence the goal will be to improve the digital skills of the population. "Let's increase students and skilled workers exchanges," the politician announced.
Defence and security
The third area of cooperation will be defence and security, especially preventing cyberattacks and hybrid attacks mainly at sea, including damage to subsea cables, as well as strengthening and diversifying arms production.
Modi announced that during the meeting with EU commissioners, they managed to create a bold and ambitious action plan for the India-EU partnership after 2025. It will be inaugurated at the next India-EU summit, which will take place this year.
