Brussels, 01/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 29 September, European Commissioner for Transport Antonio Tajani said that in the years to come he wanted greater cooperation in aviation with India, as well as further cooperation such as regulation and technical cooperation. Speaking at a bilateral EU/India summit (EUROPE 9750), Tajani welcomed the signing of the “horizontal” aviation agreement between the two parties and said that that this was “good news for Indian and European airlines and their passengers”. According to the commissioner, this agreement aims to align existing bilateral aviation agreements on Community law and “remove legal uncertainty” as well as “mark a very important stage in our relations with India”. The commissioner affirmed that “India is one of Europe's major partners and one of the most dynamic aviation markets in the world. The EU and India therefore have a lot to gain from closer cooperation in this sector”. He emphasised that “this agreement is another concrete result of the EU-India strategic partnership”. According to Commission data, airline passenger traffic between the EU and India grew by 75% over the last three years and in 2007 stood at almost 5.7 million passengers. The agreement signed on Monday with New Delhi is the 37th “horizontal” agreement negotiated in aviation with the Commission. (A.By/trans/transl.rh)