‘Europe and India are personal for me’: Antonio Costa at India-EU FTA meet | India News

The European Union and India completed negotiations on a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Tuesday, signaling a major step forward in their strategic partnership in a rapidly changing global order. Addressing a joint press conference in the national capital, European Council President António Costa underlined the personal significance of the agreement by showing his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.

“I am President of the European Council but I am also an overseas Indian citizen. As you can imagine, this has a special meaning for me. I am proud of my roots in Goa, where my father’s family is from, and the connection between Europe and India is a personal thing for me,” Costa said.

Addressing the broader implications of the agreement, Costa described the conclusion of the negotiations as a strong signal of unity between the two partners.

“We are ending our trade negotiations today. We restarted them at the last meeting, which I was happy to host in May 2021. Our summit sends a clear message to the world. At a time when the global order is fundamentally reshaped, the European Union and India stand together as strategic and reliable partners.”

“Today, we are taking our partnership to the next level. As the world’s two largest democracies, we are working hand in hand to deliver tangible benefits for our citizens and shape a resilient global order that supports peace and stability, economic growth and sustainable development.”

Emphasizing the strategic importance of trade, Costa said, “Trade is an important geopolitical stabilizer and the main source of economic growth. Trade agreements strengthen the rules-based economic order and promote shared prosperity. Therefore, the FTA has historical importance.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the signing of the agreement, describing it as “not just a trade deal but also a blueprint for shared prosperity”.

The Prime Minister noted that India-EU relations have expanded rapidly in recent years and are based on shared democratic values, economic complementarity and strong people-to-people ties. He emphasized that bilateral trade is currently around 180 billion euros.

Emphasizing that the scope of cooperation has expanded, Modi said that India and the EU have established partnerships in the fields of strategic technologies, clean energy, digital governance and development cooperation, and that this has produced results that will benefit all segments of society.

Describing the agreement as the largest free trade agreement signed by India to date, the Prime Minister said that it will open new opportunities for farmers, small entrepreneurs and service providers.

Many important agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed and exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Costa. Among these was the joint strategy document titled ‘Towards 2030: India-European Union Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda’.

India and the EU have also exchanged numerous agreements reflecting the scope of their strategic cooperation. The political declaration on the outcome of the FTA negotiations was signed by Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.

The India-EU Security and Defense Partnership document was signed by EU Vice President Kaja Kallas and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The Comprehensive Framework for Cooperation on Mobility was also signed by Šefčovič and Jaishankar.

Additional documents shared include cooperation on disaster risk management, an agreement to establish a Green Hydrogen Task Force, a memorandum of understanding between the Reserve Bank of India and the European Securities and Markets Authority, and an administrative regulation on advanced electronic seals and signatures.

(with ANI entries)