‘Significant milestone’ in India-EU ties: Jaishankar at first trade, tech council meeting in Brussels

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 for 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 regarding the global talent pool that has been discussed this morning,” she noted.

“We hope that TTC will become the crucial platform for exchanges in this regard, so that we reach political and commercial decisions in the relevant domains,” he added.

“I have just concluded an extremely productive first meeting of the India-EU Council on Trade and Technology. Thank the Vice Presidents of the European Commission @vestager and @VDombrovskis for hosting the Indian ministerial delegation, Jaishankar tweeted.

“On strategic technologies, digital governance and connectivity; clean and green energy technologies; resilient value chains, our discussions were truly meaningful. Exchange of perspectives on economic security; cooperation in third countries, including connectivity and de-risking of the global economy. Confident that this mechanism will further energize our strategic partnership,” he tweeted.

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.

“He started the day in Brussels with a digital and clean energy stakeholder event. Thank the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, @vestager, for calling the meeting. In this Techade, TTC can promote the trusted collaboration so essential to reglobalization. Stakeholders are key to delivery,” Jaishankar tweeted 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.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)