Saying the India-EU partnership was “for global good”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday described the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two as a “new blueprint for shared prosperity”.
Speaking alongside President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, PM Modi said, “Today is another historic occasion, when the world’s two largest democratic powers are adding a decisive chapter to their relations. Today, India has concluded the largest Free Trade Agreement in its history so far.”
“Today is the 27th, and it’s a happy coincidence that on this very day, India is signing this FTA with the 27 countries of the European Union. This is not just a trade agreement. This is a new blueprint for shared prosperity,” PM Modi said. The two sides signed the conclusion of the FTA negotiations, a security and defence partnership and a mobility framework.
“Yesterday was a historic moment when, for the first time, leaders of the European Union participated as chief guests in India’s Republic Day celebrations,” he added.
Underlining that “respect for multilateralism and international norms is our shared priority,” Modi said, “We are in agreement that, to address today’s challenges, the reform of global institutions is essential.” This was an oblique reference to US President Donald Trump’s moves in the last one year of his administration, apart from assertive behaviour by China under its President Xi Jinping.
‘Levels of growth that neither side can achieve alone’
On the FTA, von der Leyen said, “We did it. We delivered the mother of all deals. We are creating a market of 2 billion people, and this is the tale of two giants, the world’s second and fourth largest economies, two giants who choose partnership in a true win-win fashion – a strong message that cooperation is the best answer to global challenges. This trade will further integrate our supply chain and strengthen our joint manufacturing power.”
“It will cut up to 4 billion Euros in annual tariffs for exporters of all sizes, and it will create good jobs for millions of workers here in India and in Europe. At the same time, this agreement will build on the natural complementarity of our economies. It brings together Indian skills, services and scale with Europe’s technology, capital and innovation. It will create levels of growth that neither side can achieve alone, and by combining these strengths, we reduce strategic dependencies at a time when trade is increasingly weaponised,” she said.
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Talking about the defence and security partnership, von der Leyen — who is also the former defence minister of Germany — said, “We are not only making our economy stronger, we are also delivering security for our people in an increasingly insecure world. And today, the world’s two largest economies and democracies launched their first-ever Security and Defence Partnership. This is a landmark departure and a trust-based platform for cooperation on the strategic issues that matter most.”
“In doing so, we will help to build each other’s resilience. Europe and India have a long history of cooperation in the defence industry. Now we will enhance this teamwork even further. We will deepen our cooperation on maritime security, for example, joint naval exercises to tackle piracy,” she said.
“And we will step up our work on countering cyber and hybrid threats, which are getting more sophisticated by the day, and our partnership includes a dedicated dialogue on space security, from situational awareness to secure connectivity and stronger cooperation on counterterrorism. Finally, we are launching negotiations on a Security of Information Agreement. Europe and India have chosen to be reliable partners to one another, and this is how we demonstrate the trust we share,” she said.
Launching the first EU legal gateway office in India
On the mobility pact, she said, “We both know our greatest wealth is our people. That is why I’m so glad that we are signing an agreement on mobility. We will facilitate the movement of students, researchers, seasonal and highly skilled workers. And this is also why we are launching the first EU legal gateway office in India. It will be a one-stop hub to support Indian talent moving to Europe in full alignment with EU Member States’ needs and policies. This is good for our economies. This is good for the friendship between our people, and this openness benefits us all.”
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On innovation, she said, “We share core values, the freedom of research and science is paramount for us. Europe and India will always choose science. We will always choose progress as the way forward, we will always choose technology at the service of our people. It’s part of who we are, and our cooperation on human-centric, trustworthy artificial intelligence is one of the best examples.”
“So today, I’m glad to announce that we are working on India’s association with Horizon Europe, backed by funding firepower of 100 billion Euros, Horizon is the world’s largest public research programme, and I can’t wait for our best talents to get to work, to advance health, clean energy, frontier technologies, just to name some, we will set up EU India innovation hubs. This will help researchers and startups to collaborate on next generation technology. And we are also launching the EU India startup partnership to boost co creation and high-potential ventures,” she added.
Historic moment: António da Costa
European Council President Costa said, “Today is a historic moment. We are opening a new chapter in our relations, on trade, on security, on people-to-people ties.”
“Our summit sends a clear message to the world at a time when the global order is being fundamentally reshaped, the European Union and India stand together as strategic and reliable partners. Today, we are taking our partnership to the next level as the two largest democracies in the world. We are working hand in hand to deliver concrete benefits for our citizens and to shape a resilient global order that underpins peace and stability, economic growth and sustainable development,” said Costa, an Indian-origin leader who is the former prime minister of Portugal.
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Earlier in the day, the leaders paid tribute at Rajghat and headed to Hyderabad House for the India-EU leaders’ summit. They will be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in the evening.