The EU and India will proceed with a new security and defence partnership, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa will visit India from January 25–27.
India–EU trade talks are in the final phase, with an announcement expected by the end of January.
EU Signals Security and Defence Partnership with India; Top EU Leaders to Visit India Next Week
The EU has agreed to move ahead with a security and defence partnership with India, as top EU leaders prepare to visit New Delhi amid momentum on a long-pending trade deal
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, X/@NarendraModi
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The European Union has agreed with India to proceed with the signing of a new security and defence partnership, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday. Earlier this week, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said New Delhi and Brussels are close to signing a trade deal.
“There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement — some call it the mother of all deals — one that would create a market of two billion people, accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP,” von der Leyen said.
The conclusion of the much-anticipated India–EU trade deal is expected to be announced by the end of January. Von der Leyen and European Council President António Luís Santos da Costa will visit New Delhi from January 25 to 27, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The India–EU Summit, co-chaired by von der Leyen, is scheduled for January 27.
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Speaking in Davos, von der Leyen said the bloc remains open to doing business with partners across the world and will continue to pursue active engagement. “Europe will always choose the world, and the world is ready to choose Europe,” she said.
Last week, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal reaffirmed that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU is in its final phase and described it as the “mother of all deals” signed by the country so far. “I have done seven deals so far, all with developed economies. This one will be the mother of all,” Goyal said.
The India–EU trade talks began in 2007 and were discontinued in 2014. Negotiations were relaunched in 2022 amid renewed political and economic interest. The talks were initially referred to as the Broad-Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).
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Bilateral trade between India and the EU stood at $140 billion in 2024, making the bloc India’s largest trading partner.
While the agreement is expected to expand India’s market access and reduce both sides’ dependence on Russia and China, commerce ministry officials have said New Delhi will not open its agriculture or dairy sectors under any pact, citing farmers’ interests.