
India and the European Union (EU) are eyeing a yearend deadline for the completion of a long in process Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following the recent “landmark” visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU leaders to New Delhi.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted that as many as 20 Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State engaged in discussions around issues ranging from trade, digital green technology, energy, environment and connectivity with the visiting delegation of the European College of Commissioners.
The MEA said: “The leaders have directed their teams that the India-EU FTA should be concluded within the year. This is, of course, a very important outcome."
Von der Leyen, meanwhile, described India as a "pillar of certainty" for Europe in an "increasingly uncertain world".
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In her address, the European leader stated: “We have tasked our teams to build on this momentum and finalise our Free Trade Agreement before the end of this year. We are expecting a lot of our trade negotiators, we told them they should surprise us. Now more than ever, the geopolitical context asks for decisive action.
“At the same time, we must take our Trade and Technology Council to the next level and connect research, innovation and market uptake. This allows us to tackle important economic challenges together. And to build robust and diverse supply chains such as for example semi-conductors, a very important topic we have been working intensively on.”
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Pointing to the shifting geopolitical landscape, she added: “We know that authoritarian states are getting bolder, ignoring borders and threatening peace at sea. Now is the time to step up our security and defence cooperation on land, at sea and in space. Cybersecurity has never been so crucial.
“India and the EU are together greater than the sum of our parts. Together, we send a powerful and positive signal to the world. The planets are aligned – and so are Europe and India.”
(*With ANI Inputs)