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NEW DELHI: Amidst the dramatic downturn in their relations with the Donald Trump-led US, India and the EU announced successful conclusion of the FTA negotiations and signed another deal to formalise their security and defence partnership at the India-EU summit that, PM Narendra Modi said, history will remember as a tide-turning moment and the beginning of a new era in relations. Modi said India had concluded the largest free trade agreement in its history that will also boost investment between India and the EU, create new innovation partnerships and strengthen global supply chains, acting not just as a trade agreement but a new blueprint for shared prosperity.
The summit co-chaired by the PM and EU Council and Commission presidents, Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen respectively, saw 13 “deeply strategic” outcomes including the signing of a mobility pact, which would allow Europe to attract more highly skilled professionals, researchers and students from India, and adoption of a new joint comprehensive strategic agenda. Talking about increasing global turbulence, Modi said respect for multilateralism and international norms remained a shared priority and added both sides were united in their view that reform of global institutions is essential to address the challenges of our time. The PM said that the “historic” FTA will facilitate easier access for Indian farmers and small enterprises to European markets, create new opportunities in manufacturing, and further strengthen cooperation across the services sectors. Von der Leyen took a swipe at the US as she said both sides through the “mother of all deals” were reducing strategic dependencies “when trade is increasingly weaponised”. “It brings together India’s skills, services and scale, with Europe’s technology, capital and innovation. It will create levels of growth that neither side can achieve alone,” said the president. On the new defence partnership, Modi said it will boost cooperation on counterterrorism, maritime security, and cybersecurity. “Defence and security are a foundation for any strong partnership. This will also strengthen our shared commitment to a rules-based international order. Our cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region will grow, and our defence companies will gain new opportunities to work together on co-development and co-production,” said Modi, adding that two of the world’s largest democratic powers had come together to add a defining chapter to their relationship. Talking about the new “ambitious and holistic” strategic agenda for the next five years, the PM said that in a complex global environment, the agenda would provide clear direction, advance shared prosperity, accelerate innovation, strengthen security cooperation, and deepen people-to-people ties. He said cooperation between India and the European Union constituted a “Partnership for the Global Good.” “We will expand trilateral projects from the Indo-Pacific to the Caribbean, thereby providing tangible support for sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and women’s empowerment,” said the PM, adding that both sides will work to establish the IMEC Corridor as a key pillar of global trade and sustainable development. “In the course of relations among nations, there are moments when history itself declares that this is where the direction changed, that this is where a new era began. Today’s historic Summit between India and the European Union represents such a moment,” said the PM. Von der Leyen reciprocated the sentiment by saying the world was waiting for India and the EU to do more. “This was really an expression of the potential that is there in this deeply, deeply strategic relationship that the two sides are now beginning to explore much more fully,” said foreign secretary Vikram Misri. In a joint statement, both sides underlined the necessity of comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, accountable and reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities. “They emphasized the World Trade Organization’s central role in the multilateral trading system and global trade governance and underlined that meaningful, necessary and comprehensive reform of the WTO is essential to improve its functions so that it is better suited to advance all Members’ objectives,” said the statement. Von der Leyen also announced that the EU is working on India’s association with Horizon Europe, world’s largest public research programme that is backed by “funding firepower” of EUR 100 billion. “We will set up EU-India Innovation Hubs. This will help researchers and start-ups to collaborate on next-gen technology. We are also launching an EU-India Startup Partnership to boost co-creation, and high-potential ventures,” said the president, who invoked Makar Sankranti to drive home the point about new momentum in ties. “Two weeks ago, India marked Makar Sankranti. It is the beginning of Uttarayan, the sun’s northward journey. From darkness to light. From stillness to growth. From what was to what can be. That is what makes our Summit so unique and timely. The time is ripe for renewal,” she said.
