New Delhi, January 27
India and the European Union inked key agreements and MoUs on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. Notably, India and the EU have also agreed on a strategy document titled, 'Towards 2030- a joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda.'
India and EU exchanged several agreements and MoUs reflecting the wide-ranging and multi-faceted cooperation as a part of the India-EU Strategic Cooperation.
The India-EU Security and Defence Partnership document was signed by EU VP Kaja Kallas and EAM S Jaishankar.
The political declaration on conclusion of negotiations on the India-EU FTA was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic.
The signing of the document on a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility was signed by European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic and EAM Jaishankar.
Other documents exhanged include cooperation on disaster risk management, agreement on the constitution of a green hydrogen task force and two documents MoU between the Rserve Bank of India and the European Securities and Markets Authority and the administrative arrangement on the advanced electronic seals and signaturted
PM Modi, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa announced the conclusion of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (India-EU FTA) at the 16th India-EU Summit on Tuesday. The documents on the FTA conclusion were exchanged between EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. This announcement marks a historic milestone in India-EU economic relations and trade engagement with key global partners.
Shortly before the joint press meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks with the President of the European Commission, and the President of the European Council at the Hyderabad House in the national capital.
The Indian delegation comprised of several leaders including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others.
The European Delegation was led by President of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen. Other key leaders present included EU VP Kaja Kallas and European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic.
Union Commerce Minister described the agreement as "A formidable partnership for the world."
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, reiterating it as the 'Mother of all deals' and how it illustrates the partnership between two major economies of the world. The deal becomes significant as it links two major economies that command a quarter of the world's GDP.
With the signing of the deal, India becomes the third Asian country to have such a deal with the EU after Japan and South Korea.
- ANI
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