India and the EU are currently negotiating a free trade agreement, an investment protection pact and an agreement of geographic indications.
President Leyen and Prime Minister Modi will take stock of negotiations and how we can advance them, said a senior EU.
The EU envisages an “ambitious” free trade agreement as well as on a commercially significant free trade agreement which deals with rates and non-pricing obstacles, he said that the manager indicated that there were problems between The two parties in terms of wine rates also as agricultural products.
For us, the speed is less important than the substance, he said refusing to give a calendar for the finalization of the free trade pact. India and the EU relaunched the negotiations for the commercial pact in June 2022. The two parties had for the first time launched negotiations for the free trade pact in 2007, before talks were suspended in 2013 in 2013 reason for a gap of ambition. India and the EU should also explore ways to expand cooperation in the fields of defense and security as well as new technologies.
We plan to stimulate security cooperation with India because we are fundamentally interested in a free and open and secure indo Pacific, said the official.
India is indeed a very important partner for the EU, including for its prospects on its neighbor in China, he said.
The official said that the situation in Ukraine should include Leyen’s talks with Modi and that she could inform the Prime Minister of his recent visit to kyiv.
Our team should inform New Delhi how much Ukraine security is important for our own security, he said.
A specific point that I expect that the President Leyen raises in the context of this conversation is not only our support for Ukraine, but also our sanctions that we maintain on Russia.
The manager said the EU would like to continue to intensify the application of his sanctions against Moscow.
During the visit of EU leaders, the two parties will also hold a separate meeting to examine cooperation under the Indian Council-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).
The TTC was launched in February 2023.
TTC facilitates the exchange of critical technologies relating to a range of fields, including artificial intelligence, quantum IT, semiconductors and cybersecurity.
TTC with India was the second technological partnership of this type of European Union after the first with the United States which was refreshed in June 2021.
It will be the third visit to Leyen in India. She previously visited India for a bilateral trip in April 2022 and to attend the top of the G20 leaders in September 2023.
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