EU Vice President, Kaja Kallas, landed in New Delhi on Saturday on her first official visit to India, ahead of the 16th India-EU Strategic Partnership summit.
The Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, welcomed her on her arrival, and later said in a post on X that Kallas’ visit builds on the momentum of regular high-level engagements and comes at an opportune moment to strengthen the India-EU relations.
“A warm welcome to EU HRVP @kajakallas on her first official visit to India as the EU High Representative/Vice-President. The visit comes at an opportune moment to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership, building on the momentum of regular high-level engagements,” he wrote.
Earlier on Thursday, Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had said in the European Parliament that “Europe is ready to deliver on a powerful new agenda with India” in security and defence.
“Today, the EU agreed to move forward with the signature of a new Security and Defence Partnership. It will expand our cooperation in areas such as maritime security, counterterrorism, and cyber defence. I look forward to signing it next week during the EU-India Summit in New Delhi,” she said.
The European Union and India will hold the summit in New Delhi, where a new EU-India comprehensive strategic agenda is expected to be adopted.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has also spoken on multiple occasions about the impending free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU bloc that is close to being finalised, noting that some describe it as “the mother of all deals”.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen had highlighted Europe’s intent to expand trade and international cooperation, especially in the backdrop of its standoff with the US regarding Greenland.
Referring to the scale of the proposed trade deal with India, the EU Commission chief acknowledged that “there is still work to do”, but added that they are on the “cusp of a historic trade agreement”, one that would create a market of 2 billion people, “accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP”.
The President of the European Commission is also scheduled to arrive in India ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. European Council President, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and von der Leyen will pay a three-day state visit to India from January 25 to 27 and will be chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations.
During the visit, the leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit to be held on January 27, followed by a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, besides holding restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An India-EU Business Forum is also expected to be organised on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.
India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004. The 15th India-EU Summit was held virtually on July 15, 2020.
Follow us
