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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in the national capital on Saturday on a state visit and was received by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada.
Von der Leyen, along with European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, will serve as chief guests at India's 77th Republic Day celebrations on Monday. The visit will be followed by the India-EU summit and the formalisation of a trade agreement. Speaking earlier this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen said, "We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement (with India)." Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has described the proposed free trade agreement as "the mother of all deals", as New Delhi and Brussels look to expand market access amid tightening global trade conditions driven by US tariffs and Chinese export restrictions. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met ambassadors from European Union member states and underlined the need for closer cooperation to "derisk the world economy" in response to unpredictable US policies. He said stronger India-EU engagement would help build resilient supply chains, provide global public goods such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, anti-piracy efforts and development projects, and contribute to global stability through enhanced trade, mobility and security cooperation. India and the European Union have both been impacted by the trade approach of US President Donald Trump. India faces tariff rates of up to 50 per cent on certain exports to the United States, while the EU is yet to ratify a trade arrangement with Washington that has been criticised as imbalanced. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has described India as "indispensable" to Europe's economic and strategic future. The 27-nation bloc has also advanced a new security and defence partnership with India. Together, India and the European Union represent around a quarter of the global population and gross domestic product. According to EU data, bilateral trade in goods touched 120 billion euros in 2024, marking an increase of nearly 90 per cent over the past decade, while trade in services amounted to an additional 60 billion euros. (ANI)
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