EU leaders to attend India’s 77th Republic Day, strengthen strategic ties

The European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa will travel to New Delhi for India's Republic Day and the 16th EU-India Summit to strengthen strategic and economic ties between both regions.

The EU in India announced on X that India and the European Union have developed their relationship through essential collaboration areas which now serve as their main focus.

"EU-India ties move forward. @EUCouncil President @antoniocostapm and @EU_Commission President @vonderleyen will be in New Delhi for the Republic Day & 16th EU-India Summit, Trade, security & clean transition and more on the agenda," the post read, ANI reported.

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16th EU-India Summit focuses on trade and security

EU-India Summit which both European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend in New Delhi.

The European Union in India announced that the delegation will travel to India to strengthen their unique relationship which both parties consider to be a trusted partnership. The two parties possess valuable resources which they should use to develop new areas of cooperation.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa will attend the Republic Day celebrations as chief guests at India's 77th Republic Day celebrations on Monday.

Free trade agreement on agenda

The two events include the upcoming India-EU summit and the official signing of the trade agreement.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hails agreement

The state visit of Von der Leyen began when she arrived in the national capital on Saturday and Jitin Prasada the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry welcomed him. "We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement (with India," von der Leyen said during her speech at the World Economic Forum which took place in Davos earlier this week).

Piyush Goyal the Commerce Minister described the proposed free trade agreement as "the mother of all deals" because New Delhi and Brussels want to increase market access while global trade conditions become more difficult because of US tariffs and Chinese export restrictions.

The trade policies which US President Donald Trump implemented have created economic difficulties for both India and the European Union.

India faces tariff rates of up to 50 per cent on certain exports to the United States while the EU has not yet ratified its trade deal with Washington which critics say is unbalanced.

India key to Europe’s strategic future

The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas declared India to be essential for Europe's economic and strategic future. The 27-nation bloc has also advanced a new security and defence partnership with India.

India and the European Union together account for approximately 25 percent of worldwide population and gross domestic product.

Bilateral trade sees decade high growth

According to EU data, bilateral trade in goods touched 120 billion euros in 2024, marking an increase of nearly 90 per cent over the past decade, while trade in services amounted to an additional 60 billion euros.

With inputs from agency.