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External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. (ANI/File)
A stronger relationship between India and the European Union can de-risk the world economy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday as he met the envoys of 27 EU member states, led by the EU envoy to India, in New Delhi.
This comes ahead of the India-EU leaders’ summit and the visit of the EU leaders to India for the Republic Day celebrations.
Jaishankar posted on X, “Spoke to them about the current state of the world with volatility and instability as the new normal.” The meeting is significant at a time when the US administration led by President Donald Trump is being seen as unpredictable by New Delhi.
Jaishankar said a stronger India-EU relationship can stabilise the global order through stronger trade, mobility and security partnership. He also underlined the need for cooperation between the two sides to ensure resilient supply chains.
President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will be on a state visit to India from January 25-27.
The two European leaders will attend India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations as the chief guests.
Costa and von der Leyen will hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 27.
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“Look forward to the visit of @eucopresident Antonio Costa and European Commission President @vonderleyen to India for Republic Day celebrations,” Jaishankar said.
EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin described the interaction with Jaishankar as “excellent”.
“Excellent exchange with EAM @DrSJaishankar with Team EU/27 Ambassadors reflecting the high convergence of interests & the strategic value of our growing EU / bilateral partnerships with India: benefits are mutual & global. All eyes on next week’s EU-India Summit & its deliverables,” he wrote on X.
India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004.
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The importance of the EU-India Strategic partnership is due to the fact that India is the world’s largest democracy and fastest-growing major economy.
With over one billion people of working age and a median age of 31, India is set to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030. A rapidly expanding manufacturing and technology hub, it hosts 45% of global capability centres and invests heavily in frontier technologies.
So, 60 years after establishing diplomatic ties – and building on more than 30 years of EU-India cooperation and 20 years of Strategic Partnership – both sides are working towards elevating the partnership.
The differences between India and Europe, especially over the Russia-Ukraine war, has created some mistrust among European countries. This has been one of the thorny issues, where Delhi has sought to convey that it has a legacy relationship with Russia, dating back to the Soviet Union era.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
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