NEW DELHI: European Council President António Luís Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit India for the 16th India–EU Summit on January 27 and will attend the Republic Day parade on January 26 as chief guests, the government announced.
The summit is expected to mark the culmination of months of engagement aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. The European Union has recently finalised a new strategic agenda for India amid growing global uncertainties and strains in its transatlantic relationship. Both sides are also working to conclude a long-pending free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to be among the key outcomes of the summit, alongside a proposed EU–India defence and security partnership to boost defence industrial cooperation, despite differences over India’s ties with Russia.
According to the EU, discussions will focus on trade, security, defence cooperation, clean energy transition and people-to-people exchanges. “Together, we share the capacity and responsibility to protect the rules-based international order,” Costa said.
This will also be the first time that leaders of the 27-nation bloc attend India’s Republic Day celebrations as guests of honour, a move the EU says reflects the deepening partnership between India and the European Union.
