FTA, Ukraine conflict, IMEC, and sanctions on agenda for European Commission chief’s India visit

By Ayushi Agarwal
New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI): With European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the European Union College of Commissioners, set to visit India on February 27-28, a senior EU official highlighted the symbolic significance of the visit and its aim to prepare a new strategic agenda with India, focusing on trade, technology, and security.
Apart from the ongoing negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the EU, the ongoing war in Ukraine, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and the bloc's commitment to decoupling from Russian energy imports are set to be the focus during the visit.
While emphasising the importance of the ongoing discussions on Ukraine, including the enforcement of sanctions on Russia, the EU official said that 'Ukraine is part of the agenda' during the talks between PM Modi and President Leyen and that the bloc looks at India 'as a key partner for peace'.
"Wherever we go, we talk about Ukraine, of course, in a lot of detail, given our interests, this is also formally part of the agenda of the bilateral meeting between President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Modi. So, this will be discussed, and I'm sure our president will want to give further updates on her latest visit to Kyiv. And our outlook can only re-emphasize how important Ukraine's security is for our own security, and how important Ukraine's security is also for Indian security," the senior EU official said on condition of anonymity.
"Peace in Ukraine needs to be a just, lasting, and durable peace. So we really see India as a key partner in making that case for a durable and lasting peace that includes, of course, upholding principles that also include the need for having security guarantees. So, we certainly see India, as somebody else said it before me, but as a champion and a sponsor of peace more generally. So we do hope to be partners for such peace in Ukraine, and to discuss the various ways in which we believe we can support a durable and a lasting peace in Ukraine", added the official.
The official stressed the enforcement of the bloc's sanctions against Russia and underlined that the president would raise this issue during her India visit.
"One specific point that I expect the President also to raise in the context of that conversation is, of course, not just our support to Ukraine, but also our sanctions that we maintain on Russia, and the cooperation that we have with India and that we want to continue and intensify around the enforcement of those sanctions, this is ongoing work with a number of parties, of course, that we want to make sure that our sanctions are effective, that are enforced," said the official.
"A point that will also come up in the context of that discussion on Ukraine, and that will surely take into account the latest developments both those in Kyiv on the ground, as well as those in New York yesterday in the context of the General Assembly and the Security Council," the official added.
Emphasising on the importance of the IMEC, the official said that the bloc 'remain committed' and that 'it will look to reconfirm its strong interest in building out this corridor'.
"IMEC is a very important initiative for how we think about partnerships. This is about investing in infrastructure, building the connections between us, between India and Europe, with the Middle East in the middle of it. So that includes Park infrastructure, that includes railways, that includes maritime shipping lanes. This is a project or an initiative that was at the time also very much supported by President Biden and the United States, and it has had much wider support from our side. We remain very much interested. We remain fully committed to developing this infrastructure, to continue the investments along this corridor and to build that connectivity where we are still in an early phase", said the EU official.
"This is an initiative that we support through Global Gateway, our investment agenda, and I expect to have more updates for you after the meetings, because this will be a big issue that will be discussed, and we will look to reconfirm our strong interest in building out this corridor and in linking up the Indian subcontinent with Europe through this corridor that we call IMEC", he added.
This will be President Ursula von der Leyen's third visit to India. She visited India for a bilateral official visit in April 2022 and to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in September 2023. Prime Minister and President Ursula von der Leyen have also regularly met on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation-level talks with President Ursula von der Leyen during the visit. The second ministerial meeting of the India--EU Trade and Technology Council and bilateral ministerial meetings between the European Commissioners and their Indian counterparts will also be held.
India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004, and their bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas. As the two sides enter the third decade of the strategic partnership, the visit of President von der Leyen and the EU College of Commissioners will pave the way for further strengthening of bilateral relations based on growing convergences. (ANI)