First Trade and Technology Council marks significant milestone in India-EU ties: Jaishankar

The first meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Brussels marks a major milestone in the strategic partnership between India and the European Union due to its focus on critical domains, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Co-chaired on the Indian side by EAM, Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Communications, Electronics and IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the meeting covered key focus areas of strategic technologies, digital governance and green energy technologies. . The EAM highlighted that India has a crucial role to play in all aspects and also with regard to its impact on the global talent pool.

This first meeting of the Trade and Technology Council is an important milestone in the strategic partnership between India and the European Union, Jaishankar said in his speech.

Obviously, we are important partners to each other, but what the TTC represents is a focus on key domains that are critical to both the global economy and global security. Today, the challenge is to simultaneously address the dual requirements of responsible growth and risk reduction in the global economy. This means promoting resilient and reliable supply chains and additional drivers of global production and growth, he said.

The minister stressed the importance of ensuring trust and transparency in the digital domain, including cross-border flows, which would entail embracing low-carbon growth and ensuring that this does not create critical vulnerabilities.

In each of the focus areas of CTT’s strategic technologies, digital governance and connectivity, clean and green energy technologies and resilient value chains, India has experiences to share in terms of innovation, production and deployment. We are also an important factor when it comes to the global talent pool that was discussed this morning, she noted.

We hope TTC will become the crucial platform for exchanges in this regard for us to reach political and business decisions in the relevant domains, he added.

The TTC was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during their visit to India in April last year.

It led to the creation of three Working Groups under the TTC: Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity; Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies; and the Working Group on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains.

“Kicked off the day in Brussels with a digital and clean energy stakeholder event. Thank European Commission Executive Vice President @vestager for convening the meeting. At this Techade, TTC can promote trusted collaboration so essential for the reglobalization. Stakeholders are key to delivery.” Jaishankar tweeted earlier on Tuesday.

With Belgium, EAM concludes a three-country tour that began in Bangladesh last week and also covered Sweden for the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (EIPMF) in Stockholm.