Visit of the President of the EU von der Leyen in India: India must lay bases for economic cooperation and more in -depth security

The production capacities of the defense of Europe have reduced considerably since the end of the Cold War due to low demand. The most important weapon-manufacturing countries are France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy and Spain, while Poland and Romania want to develop their internal capacities. As we expected that a technological advantage compensates for lower amounts of equipment, the quality of defense articles in Europe remains equally with global standards. Consequently, the challenge lies in the scale, because the lack of long -term government orders and the fragmented nature of the defense industry retain large -scale production, which is necessary to support Ukraine and meet national requirements. This can be achieved with cross -border collaboration and reliable supply chains for defense production.

India has also sought to radically increase its defense manufacturing, mainly driven by the autonomy of security. Its defense production increased by 16.7% to more than $ 14.5 billion in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, showing a promising trend. An increase in the share of domestic production to 65%, with private entities representing 21% of this share, indicates a robust network of the defense supply chain and an increasing private interest. An increase in exports to 2.4 billion dollars in 2023-24 testifies to the quality of Indian defense products.

Although the turnover and combined exports of the EU defense industry are astronomically higher, exceeding 166 billion dollars and $ 60 billion in 2023 respectively, India’s ability to help defense production cannot be updated. A collaboration of EU entities involved in defense manufacturing with their Indian counterparts can be mutually beneficial. IED’s policy in the defense of India, ranging from 74% by automatic and 100% government, is crucial for the success of this type of partnerships.

The United States is already focusing on Indo-Pacific, which is probably the scene of a great power competition because of its wealth of resources, its strategic geography and its major markets. With the “EU strategy for cooperation in Indo-Pacific”, launched in 2021, Brussels emphasized the increase in commitments in the region with the Indian Ocean as a gateway. While the EU seeks to amplify its presence in the rivalry of power that has followed, competing or going to bed between the great powers, it will need close partners in the region.

Increased EU in the Indo-Pacific also has a significant choice for its Member States for a security and economic partner other than Russia, China and the United States. By investing in the main Indo-Pacific countries such as India, which currently depends on Russian military equipment, the EU can help strengthen its strategic autonomy, thus strengthening regional security architecture.

India and the EU already have a solid partnership on several facets, including foreign policy, defense, technology and connectivity. India is placed only in Indo-Pacific theater with considerable influence in the Indian Ocean, a large number of armed forces and, in particular, a common objective of maintaining the order based on the rules in the region. Given its regional aspirations and its projection as a “preferred security partner”, New Delhi will be able to negotiate security and diplomatic relations between the EU and other Indo-Pacific nations. In the middle of skepticism on Europe turning to China, or Beijing filling the void left by USAID in Asia, this visit will be one of the determinants of the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy in the time to come.

The author is an analyst in Indo-Pacific Geopolitics and Southeast Asia Studies. He directs an independent practice of New Delhi politics and strategy advice