Jaishankar says India-EU relations 'more important than before'
Jaishankar also said India is cognizant of the greater strategic awakening of Europe; called stronger India-EU relationship as an 'important stabilising factor'
The relationship between India and the European Union (EU) is “more important than ever before”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday (Feburary 4).
“In a world that promises to be so volatile and so uncertain, a stronger India-EU relationship can be an important stabilising factor,” Jaishankar told the ICC-Bruegel annual seminar in New Delhi.
Jaishankar and EU
“India is certainly cognizant of the greater strategic awakening of Europe in the last few years. That too can serve as a driver of deeper engagement,” he said.
"We already see that happening, for example, in closer defence in security and technology cooperation,” he added. “The bottom line is that the India-EU relationship is more important than ever before," he stressed.
Also read: First Trade & Tech Council meet significant milestone in India-EU ties: Jaishankar
India-EU trade
Jaishankar said there had been more intensive engagement with the European Commission in recent years.
The minister said India and the EU were two of the world's largest economies having shared synergies and offering significant trade and investment opportunities.
The EU is India's largest trading partner and India is the EU's ninth largest trading partner in terms of bilateral trade in goods.