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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday and held productive discussions on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit.
Both leaders reviewed India-EU cooperation in trade, investment, climate action and welcomed the resumption of negotiations on the Trade, Investment and GI Agreements. "Productive discussions held between PM @narendramodi and President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen on the margins of G7. Reviewed India-EU cooperation in trade, investment, technology, and climate action. Welcomed resumption of negotiations on the Trade, Investment and GI Agreements," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tweeted. The Prime Minister held an "outstanding" meeting with the EU chief during which they discussed important issues including efforts to combat climate change and ways to boost digital cooperation. "President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen and I had an outstanding meeting earlier today. We discussed ways to deepen investment linkages, efforts to combat climate change, boosting digital cooperation and other important issues," PM Modi tweeted. Earlier, PM Modi and President von der Leyen agreed to launch the India-EU Trade and Technology Council at their meeting in New Delhi on April 25. During the bilateral talks, both sides reviewed the progress in implementing the India-EU Roadmap 2025 and the outcomes of the India-EU Leaders' Meeting in May 2021. They welcomed the recent decision to formally restart negotiations on India-EU Trade and Investment Agreements by June 2022. Both sides expressed hope in the early conclusion of negotiations for unlocking the full potential of bilateral trade and economic relations. Both sides have since noted the strong synergies between India-EU Connectivity Partnership announced last year and EU's new Global Gateway strategy and agreed to fast-track its implementation. Emphasizing the need for closer cooperation on strategic aspects of emerging technologies and building trusted partnerships, Prime Minister Modi and President Von Der Leyen in April announced the establishment of an India-EU Trade and Technology Council. According to MEA, this new mechanism will bring about high-level coordination on the intersecting aspects of trade, technology and security and provide the political steer needed for in-depth strategic engagement. They had appreciated the ongoing cooperation in the digital sector including in areas such as Artificial Intelligence & 5G and welcomed the finalization of the Letter of Intent on High-Performance Computing in COVID-19 drug research and climate modeling. India and the EU are increasing policy convergences on the Indo-Pacific region, according to MEA. They also exchanged views on other regional and global issues of mutual interest including cooperation in WTO, G20, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Both sides have expressed concern on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and they have called for an immediate end to violence. In the April meeting, Prime Minister Modi stressed the importance of giving peace a chance and the need to return to dialogue and diplomacy as the only way to achieve peace. India and the EU are also discussing the strcooperationtion on climate and clean energy between the two sides. Earlier in April, the Prime Minister had invited the EU's increased participation in the green energy sector in India with a focus on green hydrogen. (ANI)
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