Bolstering dialogue between India, EU will benefit international trade, investment, says PM Modi

Ahead of the India-EU virtual summit on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Portugal PM Antonio Costa said that strengthening the dialogue between the world's two largest democratic spaces will boost mutual ties and benefit international trade and investment.

In a joint op-ed for Politico, PM Modi and the Prime Minister of Portugal, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, called the India-EU summit a moment of profound geopolitical significance.

Noting Delhi's significance at the world stage, the two leaders said, "India's role as a major regional and global player is set to continue to expand over the coming years, and a strengthened partnership would offer Europe an opportunity to diversify relations in a strategic region of the world."

The leaders also said that the EU and India have often pledged to expand their ties; however, the two sides could not realize the potential that both the economies hold.

Expressing hope for the upcoming summit, the leaders said, "The Porto EU-India Leaders' Meeting promises to be a pivotal moment in this regard, giving new momentum to the partnership between the world's two largest democratic spaces, made up of over 1.8 billion people."

They added further said that this dialogue will be crucial to rebalance relations between the EU and the Indo-Pacific. "The journey together between the EU and India will be continued and advanced as of tomorrow in search of new routes of political, economic and technological cooperation, with enormous potential for mutual benefits," PM Modi and PM Costa added.

India and the European Union are likely to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement during the upcoming summit between New Delhi and the 27-nation bloc on Saturday.

According to the EU officials, India and the EU are likely to announce strong partnership and cooperation on "very resilient medical supply chain and on pharma" at the India-EU Summit.

Negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and India were launched in 2007 and suspended in 2013 due to a gap in the level of ambition between the EU and India.

"India-EU will announce strong partnership and cooperation on very resilient medical supply Chain and on pharma at the India EU summit. India and EU likely to resume negotiations on free trade agreement during EU-India Summit on Saturday," EU officials said.

( With inputs from ANI )