Date:04/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/04/stories/2007110460650600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

EU-India form strategic partnership

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: European Union (EU) has formed a strategic partnership with India for political, cultural and trade cooperation, according to Alexander Spachis, Minister counsellor, European Union delegation of the European Commission in India, Bhutan and Nepal.

Mr. Spachis was addressing a symposium on “India and the European Union: Beyond headlines” at Osmania University Centre for International Programmes here on Saturday.

He said EU and India had decided to systematise the cooperation well ahead of a summit between the EU’s President and Indian Prime Minister towards the end of this month.

A joint action plan had been prepared on numerous issues where both sides had to open a deep dialogue and exchange notes.

Priorities

The priority items would be on how the two sides should progress together on global political issues, international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and peace-keeping operations, said Mr. Spachis.

On the peoples’ relations and student exchange programmes, both Governments were discussing issues like industrial relations, services sector, exports and imports, and cooperation in science and technology, apart from trade. Indian Institutes of technology would participate in collaborative research. Joint sub-panels were formed to formulate desirable policy on energy, clean climate technologies, oil and gas, etc.

Mr. Spachis said that while the EU was the biggest trade partner for India with exports and imports accounting for 20 billion Euros each side, India was not the biggest for EU. It was at the 13th position, while there was a huge potential to tap.

Programmes

The EU was also participating in poverty alleviation and rural health programmes in India.

G. Srinivas, director in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that there were minor irritants in the likes of non-tariff trade barriers, which could be sorted out by a dialogue.

Political counsellors in the German and French Embassies M. Ackermann and Guillaume Bazard respectively also spoke.

Former vice-chancellor of B.R. Ambdedkar Open University R.V.R. Chandrasekhara Rao chaired the session.