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Press release16 May 2023Brussels


FIRST EU-INDIA TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL FOCUSED ON DEEPENING STRATEGIC
ENGAGEMENT ON TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY

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The European Union and India have held their first ministerial meeting of the
Trade and Technology Council (TTC) today in Brussels.

The TTC is a key forum to deepen the strategic partnership on trade and
technology between the two partners. Geostrategic challenges have reinforced the
EU and India's common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable
development based on shared values. The TTC will help increase EU-India
bilateral trade, which is at historical highs, with €120 billion worth of goods
traded in 2022. In 2022, €17 billion of digital products and services were
traded.

The ministerial meeting was co-chaired by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe
Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis on the EU side, and on the Indian side by
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs; Piyush Goyal, Minister of
Commerce and Industry; and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology.
They were joined by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, as well as
Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton.


KEY OUTCOMES

The EU and India have set up the TTC as a coordination platform to address key
trade, trusted technology and security challenges. The ministerial meeting
relied on the work of three workings groups.


STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES, DIGITAL GOVERNANCE AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

The European Union and India will cooperate on quantum and High-Performance
Computing research and development projects to help address challenges such as
climate change and natural disasters and improve healthcare via personalised
medicine. Both partners also committed to seek cooperation on trustworthy
Artificial Intelligence and coordinate their policies with regards to the
strategic semiconductors sector through a dedicated Memorandum of Understanding.
The EU and India will work towards bridging the digital skills gap and promoting
exchange on digital talent. Both partners will engage on 5G, telecoms and
Internet of Things standardisation. They will enhance the interoperability of
their respective digital public infrastructures and promote secure,
privacy-preserving solutions to the benefit of developing countries.


GREEN AND CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

Cooperation on research and innovation is seen as an important vehicle to unlock
potential and bring new and sustainable technologies to the market. The European
Union aims to be climate neutral by 2050 and India by 2070. To reach these
objectives, both partners will drive innovation and increase research efforts in
view of safe and sustainable development. The EU and India will focus on waste
water management, including plastic litter and waste to hydrogen; recycling of
batteries for e-vehicles and standards through pre-normative research.
Cooperation on these topics should also strengthen the role of start-ups and
building skills and capacity.


TRADE, INVESTMENT AND RESILIENT VALUE CHAINS

The EU and India have agreed to deepen their common work on resilient value
chains, work to resolve bilateral market access issues and exchange information
on each other's mechanisms on foreign direct investment screening. They will
also address global and multilateral trade issues, with particular emphasis on
the World Trade Organization. The two sides have also agreed to intensify their
engagement on carbon border measures.

Work under the TTC will proceed in parallel to the ongoing negotiations for
comprehensive and ambitious agreements on trade, investment protection and
geographical indications, which seek to maximise our considerable – yet largely
untapped – trade and investment potential.


NEXT STEPS

Ministerial meetings of the TTC will take place at least once a year, with the
venue alternating between the EU and India. Working groups will meet regularly
in the meantime, to deliver on the abovementioned political priorities. The next
ministerial meeting is planned for early 2024 in India.


BACKGROUND

The partnership with India is one of the most important relationships for the
upcoming decade and strengthening this partnership, including through the TTC,
is a priority.

The EU and India already enjoy a robust trading relationship. The EU is India's
2nd largest trading partner, accounting for €120 billion worth of trade in goods
in 2022 or 10.8% of total Indian trade. India is the EU's 10th largest trading
partner, accounting for 2% of EU total trade in goods. Trade in services between
the EU and India reached €40 billion in 2021.

This first Ministerial Meeting follows the launch on 6 February 2023 and the
announcement by President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 25 April 2022 in New Delhi.

The EU-India Trade and Technology Council is the second bilateral forum for the
EU and the first one established with any partner for India. The EU and the US
launched a TTC in June 2021. It will complement the Digital Partnerships already
launched with Asian partners as part of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the
Indo-Pacific.


FOR MORE INFORMATION

EU-India TTC Joint Statement

Factsheet


QUOTE(S)

> Today we took an important step in deepening our strategic cooperation with
> India on key digital, green and trade issues. Together, we will address
> challenges with trusted technology and security. A human-centred digital
> transition is the starting point. And we need to build secure and trusted
> connectivity and resilient ICT supply chains as part of economic de-risking.
> We will engage to deliver better services to citizens, notably through digital
> public infrastructure.
> 
> Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital
> Age - 15/05/2023


> As two of the world’s largest democracies and economies, the EU and India have
> a clear interest in working together at a time when democratic values and the
> global economy are under pressure. We both see great untapped potential in our
> trade and economic relations. We want the TTC to play a key role in unlocking
> this potential.
> 
> Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for
> People - 15/05/2023


> India is an indispensable strategic partner for the EU. The Trade and
> Technology Council will allow the EU and India to tackle strategic challenges
> at the nexus between trade, technology and security, and to deepen their
> bilateral cooperation. It should help ensuring the implementation of the
> political commitments in these key areas.
> 
> High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell - 15/05/2023


> The partnership with India, a technological powerhouse, will allow us to
> foster innovation, boost competitiveness and accelerate the development of
> cutting-edge technologies needed for our green and digital transition in a
> fast-changing geopolitical context. We will work together to increase the
> resilience of the strategic semiconductor sector.
> 
> Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market - 15/05/2023



PRINT FRIENDLY PDF

First EU-India Trade and Technology Council
English (43.794 kB - PDF)
Download (43.794 kB - PDF)


CONTACTS FOR MEDIA

   

 * JOHANNES BAHRKE
   
   Phone
   +32 2 295 86 15
   Mail
   johannes.bahrke@ec.europa.eu

 * MIRIAM GARCIA FERRER
   
   Phone
   +32 2 299 90 75
   Mail
   miriam.garcia-ferrer@ec.europa.eu

 * THOMAS REGNIER
   
   Phone
   +32 2 29 9 1099
   Mail
   thomas.regnier@ec.europa.eu

 * ROBERTA VERBANAC
   
   Phone
   +32 2 298 24 98
   Mail
   roberta.verbanac@ec.europa.eu

If you do not work for a media organisation, you are welcome to contact the EU
through Europe Direct in writing or by calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11.
IP/23/2728
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Version: 1.0.12 Last modified: Mon Apr 17 2023 09:50:30 GMT+0000 (GMT)