The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, highlighted on Wednesday 1 March the importance of India for the European Union.
“We are facing geopolitical challenges, and India [...] remains an indispensable strategic partner for the European Union. You are - you have become - the fifth economy in the world, the most populated country and in not many years you will be the third economy in the world”, he said in a speech at the India-Europe Business and Sustainable Conclave in New Delhi.
Borrell said India was “essential” for the EU in the fields of energy, technology and the economy.
Highlighting the geopolitical context, the High Representative explained that there was even greater potential for enhanced energy cooperation between India and the EU in the fields of solar energy, green hydrogen and offshore green energy. “Intensifying outreach towards the private sector in both India and the European Union will be key”, he added.
Similarly, considering that the world was “in the middle of a technological race”, Mr Borrell explained that the “best thing to do is to try to cooperate in order not to make these battlefields” for artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors or quantum computing “a real battle, a battle of influence”. According to the High Representative, the EU has an interest in deepening its collaboration with India in a number of ongoing digital initiatives in order to achieve tangible results.
Finally, Mr Borrell returned to the geopolitics of the economy, emphasising that the EU is “a good partner, faithful to international norms and to the multilateral system”. “This debt crisis, this inflation, this food insecurity, this climate change, this international system that many see as outdated – it is certainly outdated – paralysed and unequal, require us to be more proactive and more attentive”, he warned. Stressing that the EU was the largest donor of development and humanitarian aid and a reliable partner, Mr Borrell recalled that it was not a question of “solidarity” but of the EU’s geopolitical position.
In addition, following a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the High Representative confirmed his desire to deepen the EU’s strategic partnership with India and their collaboration on regional and global challenges. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)