European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will arrive in New Delhi today to take forward work on the proposed trade agreement between India and the European Union. The visit will focus on strengthening economic ties and deepening cooperation between Europe and India.

 

Earlier, Vice-President of the European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrived in New Delhi this morning. In a social media post, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, the visit comes at an opportune moment to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership. He added that the visit of Ms Kallas will build on the momentum of regular high-level engagements between India and the European Union. 

 

The visit of the EU Foreign Policy Chief comes ahead of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa’s visit to India, as the two leaders will be chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations on Monday. The leaders will co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 27th of this month. 

 

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said the European Union is close to finalising a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, describing it as what some have called the mother of all deals. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ursula von der Leyen underlined Europe’s commitment to expanding global trade and strengthening international cooperation. Referring to the scale of the proposed agreement, she said there is still work to be done, but the negotiations are nearing a decisive stage.