EAM Jaishankar interacts with EU top brass; discusses FTA agreement, IMEC

Brussels, June 11: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic and European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Sikela on Wednesday. The leaders held discussions on imperative issues such as the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC) along with shipping and clean energy.

Sharing the details in a series of posts on X, EAM said, "Delighted to meet @MarosSefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security in Brussels this morning. Recognised the progress in our discussions for a comprehensive, balanced and meaningful FTA agreement between India and EU. Agreed that it would elevate our strategic partnership, that is rapidly acquiring new dimensions and facets."

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1932762402170257688

"Great meeting @JozefSikela, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. Our conversation focused on driving forward India - EU engagement in connectivity, IMEC, green shipping and clean energy. Today's signing of our trilateral cooperation arrangement will benefit the Global South", he wrote on X.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1932771290747686932

The European leaders too expressed optimism on meetings with EAM Jaishankar.

European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic wrote on X, "A valuable meeting with @DrSJaishankar, covering our efforts to elevate the EU-India partnership to the next level - through a commercially meaningful trade agreement. We keep our strategic lenses firmly in place, and I'm looking forward to seeing @PiyushGoyal soon."

https://x.com/MarosSefcovic/status/1932753273527623696

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Sikela in a series of posts on X mentioned, "Following our recent mission to India, we keep pushing for stronger EU-India partnership. Today I had a meeting with India's Minister of External Affairs, @DrSJaishankar. We discussed: New EU-India Strategic Agenda; The progress of India-Middle East-Europe Corridor project. Our joint priorities under the Global Gateway, which include clean energy, sustainable urbanization and enhanced connectivity"

https://x.com/JozefSikela/status/1932752400391016497

"To fully unlock the potential of the EU-India partnership, today we signed a Cooperation Agreement on Trilateral Cooperation with Minister of External Affairs @DrSJaishankar. This new initiative will support pilot projects in third countries, focused on driving sustainable development with a strong emphasis on climate action and digital inclusion," Jozef Sikela added.

https://x.com/JozefSikela/status/1932776401725252039

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar met the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed cooperation between India and Europe on several fronts, including trade, technology and security.

Reader Comments

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Rajesh K.

Finally some concrete progress on the India-EU FTA! This has been dragging for too long. With our growing economy, we deserve better trade terms. Hope our negotiators don't compromise on key sectors like agriculture and dairy. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳

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Priya M.

IMEC is a game-changer for India's connectivity and trade. But we must ensure China doesn't sabotage it like they did with other projects. Dr. Jaishankar is handling our foreign policy brilliantly - making us proud on global stage 👏

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Amit S.

While FTA is important, government should also focus on improving our manufacturing standards to truly benefit from EU market access. Right now many Indian products struggle to meet their quality requirements. This is the real challenge.

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Sunita R.

Good to see focus on clean energy cooperation! India and EU can do wonders together in solar and wind energy. But hope this doesn't mean we'll compromise on our development needs for climate goals. Balance is important.

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Vikram J.

The trilateral cooperation for Global South is a smart move. India positioning itself as bridge between developed and developing world. But implementation is key - hope it's not just another paperwork exercise like many international agreements.

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Neha P.

While all these big agreements sound impressive, I hope ordinary Indians will benefit too. Will this create jobs? Reduce prices of European goods? Improve technology transfer? That's what matters to common people like us.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.