India asks EU to liberalise visa regime

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Paris, September 30:: India on Tuesday said the EU must liberalise its visa regime to allow free flow of businessmen and skilled professionals from the country to the continent and was looking forward to the proposed 'Blue Card' initiative to facilitate hassle-free employment of skilled migrants.

The ambitious target set at the ninth Indo-EU summit in Marseilles on Monday to double the India-EU trade turnover to 100 billion euro by 2013 is all the more reason for the 27-nation bloc to remove hurdles that will make it easier for businessmen and tourists to come to the continent, according to a top Indian official.

The summit attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his capacity as chairperson of the EU's rotating presidency, pledged to expedite negotiations for a broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement by next year.

According to European Commission President Manuel Barroso, the EU is aware of the difficulties faced by skilled professionals from India and other non-EU countries to come to the continent and was working on the 'Blue Card' initiative on the lines of the more famous 'Green Card' system of the US.

Naline Surie, Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, said that the EU has some concerns over illegal migrants coming to the region and said India is willing to take them back.