Kicking off preparations for the next Summit! India-EU co-chair the Strategic Partnership Review

New Delhi, November 9: India-EU Strategic Partnership Review Meeting was held on Friday. The Indian side was led by Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) and the EU side was led by Christian Leffler, Deputy Secretary-General, European External Action Service.

 

The meeting covered the entire spectrum of the India-EU relationship with a view of identifying areas to strengthen the cooperation and also identify possible deliverables at the next round of India-EU Summit planned to be held in early 2020.

Both sides recognized the need to fully realize the untapped potential of the Strategic Partnership. They underlined the necessity of having a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement and agreed to continue working towards it.

They also expressed commitment to increase engagement including in the areas of Digital Economy, Climate Change and cooperation at the multilateral forums.

 

Last month, 28 member delegates of the European Union visit India during which PM Modi expressed the hope that they have a fruitful tour to various places including Jammu and Kashmir giving them a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the region of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh.

As the opposition hammered allegations commenting on European Union’s visit to India, the Ministry of External Affairs slammed them stating that it was brought to the government's notice that a delegation of members of the European Union Parliament (MEPs) was going to visit India. In a press conference, Raveesh Kumar said the MEPs had expressed a "keen desire" to know the country, adding it was like a "familiarisation visit".