Brussels, 23/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - At the close of the Summit held in New Delhi on Friday, the Union and India made a joint appeal for "decisive measures" to be taken against the countries that finance or harbour terrorists. The European and Indian leaders, moreover, promised to double the value of trade and investment over the next five years without, however, agreeing how this should be done. Commissioner Pascal Lamy, who was part of the Community delegation headed by Mr Prodi and Mr Verhofstadt on behalf of the Commission and Council, invited India to improve access to its market for "products that count for Europe" together with "mutual concessions", mainly in textiles and agricultural products. Furthermore, a cooperation agreement in the field of science and technology was signed.
"There can be no religious, ethnic, ideological or any other justification for acts of terrorism", stress the European and Indian leaders in a joint declaration that denounces with just as much vigour the moral, diplomatic and financial support from some States that serve as a rear base for those responsible for perpetrating attacks against other countries. A frank success for India which is seeking to make the international community agree that the campaign against terrorism should also be aimed at separatists of Muslim confession in the border region of Kashmir, a region that New Delhi and Islamabad have been fiercely fighting over for several weeks. The Belgian Prime Minister pointed out that the EU and India share the same view that the government to take over from the Taliban regime in Kabul should be independent, largely representative of the various Afghan ethnic groups and respectful of other Nations' security interests.
On the trade front, the Union and India, which clashed in the last stretch of the Doha talks, pledged to increase the value of their trade in products and investment to EUR 50 billion by 2006, from 25 billion today. This is well within their potential, admitted the Europeans, India's number one partners, whereas India is only Europe's 19th trading partner. Nonetheless, everyone stressed that this approach has only just entered the exploratory phase, with New Delhi having agreed to study the European offer for better market access for its textiles in exchange for similar concessions, an arrangement proposed in spring 2001 that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already taken on board. In return, the Union could also "meet (India's) concerns for its agricultural products", added Mr Lamy, specifying that, if New Delhi were to sign such an agreement, the Union would provide it with "technical assistance" so that the Indian agri-food products would meet the food safety standards of Europe".