EU-India summit focuses on counter-terrorism, economic cooperation

The 13th summit between the European Union (EU) and India focused on strengthening their economic partnership and counter-terrorism cooperation in the aftermath of last week's Brussels bomb attacks.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India met in Brussels on Wednesday after a gap of four years.

In a joint statement released after the summit, the leaders reconfirmed their commitment to give new momentum to the bilateral relationship endorsing the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020 as a common roadmap to jointly guide and strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership in the next five years.

The agenda encompasses a wide range of areas for cooperation such as foreign and security policy, trade and investment, economy, global issues as well as people to people contacts.

Held a week after the terrorist attacks in Brussels killed 32 people at Brussels' airport and in a subway station near the EU headquarters, the leaders from the EU and India confirmed their commitment to remain united and firm in the fight against hatred, violent extremism and terrorism.

The leaders adopted a joint declaration on counter terrorism during the summit, aiming to step up the EU-India cooperation to counter extremism and radicalization, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and curb sources of terrorist financing and arms supply.

To this end, they committed to further enhance exchanges in the fields of finance, justice and police and looked forward to the EU-India counter-terrorism dialogue.

Meanwhile, both sides decided to further strengthen the EU-India economic partnership.

The meeting was expected to give political impetus to the stalled talks on Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), which were launched in 2007, but have faced a series of hurdles since.

The joint statement said both sides have re-engaged in discussions on how to further the EU-India BTIA negotiations.

The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for 13 percent of India's overall trade. In 2015 the total value of EU-India trade in goods reached 77.5 billion euros (87.9 billion U. S. dollars).

The EU is also the largest investor in India, with investment stock valued at 38.5 billion euros in 2014, and is the primary destination for Indian foreign investment.

India expressed its readiness to establish a mechanism to facilitate investments of all EU Member States in India.

According to the statement, the European Investment Bank's (EIB) has committed to support long-term investment in infrastructure crucial for environmentally sustainable, social and economic development in India.

The EIB has decided to loan 450 million euros in the construction of the first metro line in the city of Lucknow. During the summit, the EIB and India signed a first tranche of 200 million euros.

The EU and India also decided to step up their cooperation to fight climate change.

The "Joint Declaration by the European Union and the Republic of India on Indo-European Water Partnership" adopted at the summit foresaw strengthening technological, scientific and management capabilities in the field of water management and supports the Indian "Clean Ganga" and "Clean India" flagship projects.

At the same time, the leaders endorsed the establishment of the Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM) between the EU and India.

The EU said India is important as a strategic partner for the EU in the field of migration and mobility.

The CAMM addresses four pillars in a balanced manner: better organized regular migration and the fostering of well-managed mobility; prevention of irregular migration and trafficking in human beings; maximizing the development impact of migration and mobility; and the promotion of international protection.

The CAMM, as a framework for cooperation, is the start of a longer term process which will lead to deeper cooperation and solid mutual engagement on migration, a key global policy area, according to the statement.

The EU-India strategic partnership was launched in 2004. The last EU-India summit was held in Delhi in 2012. (1 euro = 1.1340 U. S. dollars) Enditem