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By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 17 July 2020: India and the European Commission (EC) have agreed to establish a “high-level dialogue” on investment and trade. The summit remains elusive on the progress of an FTA between the EU and India. The EU is India’s largest trading partner.
The joint statement after the summit says the two sides “reaffirmed their commitment to work towards balanced, ambitious, and mutually-beneficial trade and investment agreements, opening markets and creating a level playing field on both sides. They also agreed to establish a regular High-Level Dialogue at ministerial level to provide guidance to the bilateral trade and investment relations and to address multilateral issues of mutual interest.”
The joint statement came after the 15th (virtual) summit between India’s PM Narendra Modi and European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council’s President Charles Michel on 16 July 2020.
A report by DW News says dissuasions during the summit also touched defense cooperation, tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, eradication of child labor, protests over the Indian citizenship law, and relations with China.
“China and India are both important to us, both are very different,” the EU President said. “The difference is that we share with India that we are democracies.”
“Our relations with China did come up,” MEA’s Vikas Swarup said. “The Prime Minister (Modi) shared his views on the India-China relationship in general, and the current border situation.”
Joint Statement of the 15th India-EU Summit (July 15, 2020).
India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025.
EU-India Joint Declaration on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy.
