India, EU agree to sign security and defense partnership next week (Kaja Kallas)

India and the European Union agreed on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) to sign a new security and defense partnership covering maritime security, cybersecurity and the fight against terrorism, announced the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

The partnership will be signed next week during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa to India, where they will be the chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations. The leaders will co-chair the 16th India-EU summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Preparations for the visit are going well, but have not been without challenges, said Ms. Kallas, who will accompany the leaders to India.

The visit focuses on the signing of a “free trade” agreement (FTA), which is still being finalized.

India and the EU will adopt a new comprehensive strategic agenda next week, based on a 2030 planning horizon, Kallas told European parliamentarians in Strasbourg. She highlighted that the EU is among India’s largest trading partners and described India as “indispensable” to Europe’s economic resilience.

The two sides worked on the joint declaration and agenda keeping in mind that the summit “must be effective, taking into account the geopolitical landscape,” Ms. Kallas said.

Besides, the two sides also aim to reach an agreement on information security, Kallas said, adding that in a dangerous world, India and the EU could benefit from collaboration.

“(The) EU and India are moving closer together at a time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure due to wars, coercion and economic fragmentation,” she said. Along with the war between Russia and Ukraine which enters its fourth year next month, Europe has faced geopolitical shocks emanating from the White House over the past year, with US President Donald Trump renegotiating the basis of the transatlantic relationship. In recent days, Mr. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on several European countries if they do not facilitate the transfer of Greenland to the United States.

Ms Kallas told MEPs (members of the European Parliament) that India and the EU must become more ambitious partners. “Two great democracies cannot afford to hesitate,” she said.

During the visit to New Delhi next week, the two sides plan to conclude a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive mobility framework, to facilitate the movement of students, seasonal workers, researchers and highly qualified professionals, and to promote research and innovation, Ms. Kallas said.

“In the Indo-Pacific and beyond, Europe and India can help anchor stability by defending open sea lanes, strengthening maritime domain awareness and resisting coercion in all its forms,” Kallas told parliamentarians.