EU & India Expand Ties: New Strategic Agenda Unveiled

New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) The European Union (EU) on Wednesday unveiled a new strategic agenda to significantly ramp up its engagement with India in a range of key areas such as defence, trade and energy, and to jointly tackle major global challenges.

The EU said its closer partnership with India is increasingly becoming vital in the wake of the shifting geopolitical realities and that it is prudent for the two sides to strengthen economic growth and security.

The 'New Strategic EU-India Agenda' marks a significant milestone in relations between the two sides as it aims to "deepen, broaden, and better coordinate" bilateral cooperation, enhance prosperity and security for both partners and help tackle major global challenges, it said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "Now is the time to focus on reliable partners and double down on partnerships rooted in shared interests and guided by common values."

"With our new EU-?India strategy, we are taking our relationship to the next level," she said.

The top EU leader said the new agenda will be advancing trade, investment and talent mobility, strengthening joint economic security and deepening industrial cooperation in the defence sector.

"Europe is already India's biggest trading partner and we are committed to finalising our Free Trade Agreement by the end of the year. Europe is open for business. And we are ready to invest in our shared future with India," she said after releasing the new document.

The new strategic agenda will have to be ratified by all the 27-member nations of the EU. After the ratification process, it will be adopted at the India-EU summit that is expected to be held in the first quarter of next year.

The new strategic agenda identifies five areas of shared interest that included security and defence, connectivity and global issues, prosperity, sustainability, technology and innovation.

"Beyond the bilateral dimension, the new strategic agenda highlights EU-India joint engagement on global issues and with third partners, reflecting India's growing global influence," the EU said.

Under the defence pillar, the document identified maritime security, cyber defence, and counterterrorism as areas to expand cooperation.

It said the launch of negotiations for a security of information agreement to facilitate classified information exchange will support closer security and defence cooperation.

Closer cooperation on the Indo-Pacific, addressing hybrid threats, space security, and intensifying engagement on Russia's war against Ukraine and sanctions are other areas of focus, it said.

The strategic agenda, however, did not elaborate on its reference to sanctions.

The new strategic agenda also emphasised strengthening regional connectivity initiatives, such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and advances Global Gateway and EU-India trilateral cooperation with and in third countries.