Further strengthening of India-EU Strategic Partnership is the main agenda of the forthcoming visit of President Ursula von der Leyen to visit India. In her first visit after taking over the European Commission office, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, defence and security, connectivity, energy and digital transition, climate change and biodiversity loss will be the focus of her meetings in New Delhi.
Besides calling on President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, she will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also be the chief guest at the Raisina Dialogue 2022 in New Delhi.
Raisina Dialogue
As a chief guest at the dialogue which is held under the aegis of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the EU President, according to an official statement, will offer EU perspective on the current geo-political situation and the challenges, and will also talk about the potential of the EU-India Strategic partnership.
India-EU FTA
The focus of this visit and meetings will be on Free Trade Agreement, Investment Protection agreement, and Geographical Indications agreement. The EU-India trade in goods over the last decade has gone up by 41 percent and the trade in services is almost 76 percent and goods and services in 2020 amounted to €96 billion.
Recently, the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade Bernd Lange, led a 7member delegation of the European Parliament’s International Trade committee. In his discussions with the top Indian officials, the focus was on an early conclusion of the India-EU FTA, and also about India’s stand at the international forum.
According to an official statement, the EU is one of India’s largest investors and accounts for almost 16 percent of total investments received between 2015-20, touching Euro 83 billion in 2000-2021).
Around 4,500 European companies are already operating in India and have contributed to the creation of over 1.5 million direct and 5 million indirect jobs in the country.
Her agenda
Her travel agenda includes a visit to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) campus and interaction with the youth on the existential challenge of climate change; deliver an address at the International Solar Alliance (ISA); discuss with Indian and EU companies about security of supply chains in the energy sector.
Russia’s war against Ukraine
This is one critical issue that will come up during her talks with the top leadership in India. Several countries including the EU which has imposed stringent sanctions on Russia have been urging India to take a stand at the international forum.
Recently, NATO members had met in Brussels to draw out a plan of sending more weapons and platforms to Ukraine.
To fight against the Russian invasion, Ukraine has given out a list of weapons and platforms it wants — anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft missiles like Javelins, Stringers; tanks, fighter jets, drones and more to counter.
Based on the information available in the public domain, around 30 countries have so far provided military aid to Ukraine, and this includes €1 billion from the EU and USD 1.7 billion from the United States.
The US has sent 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, shoulder-carried anti-tank weapons 6,000AT-4, single-use unguided anti-tank rocket launcher, produced in Sweden; the Czechs delivered T72 tanks; and Slovakia has sent its S300 air defense missile systems.
