EU chief's visit has been about India-EU strategic partnership and how to elevate it: MEA

The European Commission President is on a two-day bilateral visit to India, accompanied by members of the European College of Commissioners. This is Ursula von der Leyen's third visit to India. She previously visited India for a bilateral official visit in April 2022 and to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in September 2023.

MEA Secretary (West) Tanmay Lal termed it an "unprecedented and landmark visit," on account of it being the first visit of the European College of Commissioners outside of the continent.

He also highlighted that extensive discussions have been field regarding India-EU Free Trade Agreement and both parties are aiming to conclude the negotiations by this year.

Further, the MEA Secy said that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been a concern for many countries, particularly from the Global South, and India has raised its concerns regarding the issue.

"CBAM is a concern for a large number of countries, especially the Global South. We have highlighted our concerns to our EU partners on a number of occasions. We have also noted that the EU has made some modifications to the CBAM framework to simplify some of the aspects, and we are examining the implications of that. We hope that the concerns of the developing country partners will be taken into account," Lal said.

"On the FTA, the two sides discussed the, there was ministerial meeting and also the main talks. The emphasis was on how to get the FTA done quickly, and there was a clear political commitment and agreement to do it quickly. That is also the direction given by the two leaders to the two sides," he added.

Being asked about whether the Russia- Ukraine war and the EU sanctions featured in the discussions during the EU President's visit, the MEA confirmed that the sanctions were "not discussed". He also affirmed that the visit was about the India-EU strategic partnership and how to both "elevate and accelerate" it.

"On other global issues, as I mentioned, the global issues of mutual interest are always part of the discussions. But if you really see, this visit has been about the strategic partnership between India and EU, and how to both elevate it and accelerate it going forward by the two sides. Just if you see the extent of the bilateral meetings that took place, 20 ministerial bilateral meetings, 20 ministers and 22 commissioners being there during the talks. So the focus was clearly and very firmly on what India and EU are doing together and what we can do together, and how we can further deepen this partnership going forward. So that was the focus of this visit," Lal said.

Speaking on the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor, the MEA Secy said that both India and the EU have a strong interest in pursuing the project as it will enhance connectivity between the parties.

"On IMEEC, both sides have interests, strong interest in pursuing the project (IMEEC) that will bring both Europe and India together in connectivity. The discussion was how to take these forward despite problems. There is progress in different aspects of IMEEC. In any meeting of global leaders, the issues of international global interest, of mutual concern and mutual interest, are discussed and relating to the issue of sanctions. There is no discussion on that," Lal said.

The MEA Secy further added that India and the EU have been discussing visa and consular issues. He noted that both sides are also discussing mobility and migration agreements to facilitate the legal pathways for Indian skilled workers to work in EU nations.

"There are discussions on visa and consular issues between India and EU. This was also discussed during this visit. Last year, the EU announced the Schengen cascade visa scheme that is aimed at facilitating longer-term visas for frequent travellers. And separately, India and EU and the states have also been discussing what are known as the mobility and migration agreements to facilitate the growing legal pathways for our professional skilled workers who are increasingly in demand in EU countries," he added.

He also elaborated on the trade relations between India and EU, and detailed progress made in different MOUs signed between the two parties.

"India's largest trading partner in goods is the European Union. The trade in goods has nearly doubled over the last decade to reach a figure of USD 135 billion. And the figure has grown three times over the past two decades," Tanmay Lal said.

"Progress has been made in implementing the MOU on semiconductors, from boosting supply chains to facilitating Talent Exchange and skilling. There has been an MoU between the Bharat 6G alliance and EU 6G smart networks and service industry associations... There is also a deepening collaboration between the India AI mission and the European AI office. On clean and green energy, a joint funding of 60 million Euros has been announced for research projects," he added. (ANI)