Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on Monday to establish an EU-India trade and technology council to address the difficulties of maintaining trustworthy technology and security amid fast geopolitical change.
PM Modi and von der Leyen reached an agreement during their meetings. The strategic coordination structure, according to the European Union, will enable both parties to address difficulties “at the nexus of commerce, trusted technology, and security,” and so enhance collaboration in these areas. Both sides agreed that rapid changes in the geopolitical environment necessitate cooperative in-depth strategic engagement, according to the statement.
PM Narendra Modi held talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi today. They reviewed progress in vibrant India-EU Strategic Partnership & agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of trade, climate, digital technology & people-to-people ties: EAM spox pic.twitter.com/4oGx9DcA1v
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2022
“The Trade and Technology Council will provide the political steer and the necessary structure to operationalise political decisions, coordinate technical work, and report to the political level to ensure implementation and follow-up in areas that are important for the sustainable progress of European and Indian economies,” the EU said in a statement.
The EU stated that the EU and India share common values and interests, which provide a solid foundation for intensifying mutually beneficial and deeper strategic partnership.
It stated that the establishment of the EU-India council is a critical step toward a stronger strategic cooperation for the benefit of all EU and Indian citizens. In the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war, the European Commission President launched a two-day visit to India on Sunday.
Von der Leyen said Russia’s war in Ukraine was a sharp warning that reliance on Russian fossil fuels is unsustainable, and urged India and the EU to work together more closely to boost the use of clean energy.
She also talked on the necessity for sustainable ways of doing business utilising clean energy in her speech to the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and she emphasised the importance of moving to “home-grown clean energies” in the aftermath of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, paid von der Leyen a visit before her meeting with Prime Minister Modi.