India & EU set to sign new Security and Defence Partnership in New Delhi next week
India and the European Union are set to strengthen their strategic relationship with the signing of a new Security and Defence Partnership at the EU-India Summit in New Delhi next week.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas made the announcement while addressing the European Parliament at Strasbourg in France last evening.
She said the pact will deepen cooperation in key areas, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, cyber-defence and maritime domain awareness, with a focus on stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
EU foreign policy chief said Europe was ready to deliver a powerful new agenda with India, noting that the European Union is among India’s largest trading partners and described the country as indispensable to Europe’s economic resilience and strategic stability.
Kallas said the agreement reflects a shared commitment to addressing growing global instability and protecting the rules-based international order.
She said that in a more dangerous world, they will both gain from working closer together.
Ms Kallas added that Europe and India could help anchor stability in the Indo-Pacific by defending open sea lanes, strengthening maritime domain awareness and resisting coercion.
Beyond security, the EU and India are also set to conclude a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility.
The framework will facilitate the movement of seasonal workers, students, researchers and highly skilled professionals, while promoting research and innovation.
Kallas said the EU aims to conclude negotiations on a long-pending EU-India free trade agreement, which would open markets, remove barriers and strengthen critical supply chains in areas such as clean technologies, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
The partnership will be signed next week during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa to India, where they will be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations.
The leaders will co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27th of this month.
Kallas, who will be accompanying the leaders to India, said the preparations for the visit were going well.
