New Delhi: While the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen begins her visit to India on Thursday, New Delhi hopes to extend cooperation with the European Union (EU) in artificial intelligence (IA) and in Indo-Pacific Security.
Sources of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have confirmed that discussions would focus on strengthening the collaboration of AI at bilateral and EU levels.
A high level delegation of the EU, led by Von Der Leyen, includes 22 of the 27 commissioners of the European Union.
This also marks the very first visit to the college of EU commissioners in India and their first collective visit outside Europe since its entry into office in December 2024.
MEA sources have stressed India’s commitment to advance the collaboration of the AI. They referred to the recent visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in France, where he co -chaired a summit at which more than 90 countries have attended. The MEA highlighted the mutual benefits of such cooperation, noting the establishment by the EU of AI standards and legislation.
“It is an area that is discussed under this. So we have synergies on this subject. This is the field where we think we can cooperate more, both at the country level and at the EU level,” said an official.
In defense and security, both parties want to improve cooperation, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
The EU recently articulated its Indo-Pacific strategy, indicating interest in deeper collaborations. Discussions may include formalization agreements to strengthen coordination between the naval forces operating in the region.
“The EU also recently released an indo Pacific strategy. They therefore showed interest in more collaborations in Indo-Pacific and how it will happen. For this moment, I will say that it goes more at the level of the cooperation forces. It is very informal coordination from now on, when the Indian navy operates in a region and their operation.
The visit is ready to intensify and diversify the commitment of India-EU in various sectors, including trade, investments, resilient supply chains, digital technologies, semiconductors, green hydrogen, clean energy, sustainable urbanization, water management, defense and space.
An important highlight will be the second ministerial meeting of Trade and Technology Council (TTC), covering three cooperation pillars: digital and strategic technologies; Clean and green technologies; And trade, investments and resilient supply chains.
Addressing questions at the time of the visit in the midst of current geopolitical tensions, MEA officials warned against the interpretation of the visit as a reaction to recent events. They underlined the strategic value of the India-EU partnership, highlighting the status of India as the greater democracy in the world and the fifth economy.
“Look at the type of value that India brings today to the international table. Whether technology, talent or skills,” said a manager.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner in terms of goods, the bilateral trade is witnessing a 90% increase in the last decade. For the year 2023-24, the trade in goods affected $ 135 billion, with exports to the EU at USD 76 billion and imports to 59 billion USD. In services, bilateral trade in 2023 was estimated at 53 billion USD. The cumulative entries of foreign foreign investment (IDE) from the EU to India from April 2000 to September 2024 totaled $ 117.4 billion, which represents 16.6% of equity entries in IDE of India.
The MEA has also highlighted the potential of European companies to explore opportunities in India, given the country’s scale and demand. “European companies are considering enormous opportunities. They have technology, they have skills, but they have no scale. Here, India enters and India wins by obtaining their technology,” noted a manager.
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