NEW DELHI: The decision by India and the European Union (EU) to resume free trade talks was not a “capricious" one, but a call taken after the two sides felt confident about it, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar said Wednesday.
“The progress that we made this year, most of all, is political… it is political, it is strategic," Jaishankar said at a session on the future of India and the EU relations that follows a summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of all 27 EU member states in May.
The key highlights of the summit, held during the Portguese presidency of the EU, was a decision by the two sides to resume free trade talks stalled since 2013 as well as join hands for a connectivity partnership in India and in Africa and Central Asia.
“Connecitvity, data, technology even the climate challenge -- all of this is going to require us to work together more closely," Jaishankar said. “We have crossed a threshold, we have seen more momentum more energy" in the relationship, he added.
On his part, Portugese foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said India was one of EU’s key partners in Asia, not China, which he described variously as a “selective partner," “competitor" and “systemic rival".
“The way we see institutions, the way we see political fundamentals, the way we see human rights, the way we see the role of civil society is very different when you see from the point of view of Brussels or when you speak from the view of Beijing," Silva said at the online event hosted by the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank. “That is why in these crucial areas our partner in Asia is not China, our partner in Asia is India," he said.
Read More at https://www.livemint.com/news/india/resumption-of-india-eu-free-trade-talks-strategic-jaishankar-11624448004212.html
Comments