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Informist, Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Tuesday held a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels and discussed potential benefits of cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, defence and security. Jaishankar is on an official visit to France, European Union and Belgium from Jun. 8–14.

 

"Welcomed her (von der Leyen) strong condemnation of terrorist attack in Pahalgam and solidarity in combatting terrorism. Discussed efforts underway to deepen the India-EU partnership. Agreed on the potential benefits of stronger cooperation in trade, technology, connectivity and security for both our regions," Jaishankar shared on X, formerly Twitter, after the meeting.

 

Jaishankar also met EU High Representative and Vice President Kaja Kallas for the first India-EU Strategic Dialogue. Both sides disucssed multiple areas, including defence and security cooperation, and India-EU free trade agreement. Addressing media along with Kallas, Jaishankar expressed that stabilising and de-risking the international economy is a strategic priority for both sides. The two leaders also expressed that both the sides are looking ahead for strong defence and security ties.

 

Giving significance to stronger economic and technological ties between major players, Jaishankar said, "...we support the goal of concluding an ambitious and balanced India-EU free trade agreement by the end of year. We also see a great benefit in holding an early meeting of trade and technology council."

 

India and EU have been negotiating a free trade agreement with an aim to conclude the deal by the end of 2025. According to an official from the external affairs ministry, the negotiations with EU on FTA are going well. India and the EU had resumed negotiations for a trade agreement in June 2023 after a gap of nine years. In 2007, they had launched negotiations for a broad-based trade and investment agreement, but the discussions were suspended in 2014 following differences over market access.

 

The EU's proposal of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and regulation on deforestation products have been some of the sensitive issues for India in the talks. India sees the EU measures to mitigate climate change as non-tariff barriers. These measures by the EU may affect the profitability of Indian exporters, as Europe is among the top export destinations for the country. India's total trade with the EU was $112.73 billion in Apr-Jan, with imports at $49.89 billion and exports at $62.84 billion, according to the commerce ministry. End

 

US$1 = INR 85.60

 

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

 

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