Shape of a partnership

EU Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski and ambassadors of member states to India on a new strategy to upscale ties.

European Union, European Union India relation, European Union India businesses, European Union India trade, Indian express — There is no doubt that we have achieved a lot together since we first established the EU-India Strategic partnership in 2004. (File)

On December 10, the 28 member states of the European Union endorsed a strategy which will take the EU’s ties with India to a new level and help our relations reach their full potential. This new strategy is unique as it is the first time the EU and its member states have developed a holistic, long-term strategic vision covering security, trade, investment, environment, research and people-to-people contacts. The strategy was elaborated in a broad consultation with stakeholders from governments, businesses, think tanks and civil society organisations, both in the EU as well as in India.

There is no doubt that we have achieved a lot together since we first established the EU-India Strategic partnership in 2004. Most notably we have witnessed a remarkable transformation in our cooperation from a focus on assistance to broader and deeper security, trade, sustainable development and research and innovation ties. For example, two-way trade in goods and services exceeded €100 billion in 2017 (making the EU India’s largest trade partner) and our € 70 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment provide over 6.5 million direct and indirect jobs in India.

However, we are all well aware that more needs to be done. In the past few years, the world has seen important transformations which coincide with challenges to multilateralism, and tremendous economic growth coupled with environmental degradation and climate change. During the last decade, the EU — adding to its standing as the world’s largest economy — has also become a more robust global actor on foreign policy and security issues while India has become the world’s fastest growing economy and has played an increasingly prominent role on the international stage.

It was high time that we gave a new long-term vision to our partnership and that we backed this vision with a clear agenda capable of scaling up our engagement. The new strategy does just that. It’s well-timed, ambitious, concrete and, yet, achievable and within reach.