New Delhi: ‘Long live India’: Von Der Leyen shares glimpses from Republic Day parade, hails India-Europe ties
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has hailed India-Europe ties after attending the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
The EU chief was the chief guest at the 77th Republic Day parade, alongside European Council President Antonio Costa. In a post on X late Monday evening, von der Leyen said, “Long live India. Long live the friendship between Europe and India.”
The European Commission President also shared a video of glimpses from the celebrations. Earlier, von der Leyen said it was “the honour of a lifetime” for her and Costa to be chief guests at the Republic Day parade. “A successful India makes the world more stable, prosperous and secure. And we all benefit,” she said.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the presence of von der Leyen and Costa at the Republic Day celebrations emphasised the growing strength of the India-European Union (EU) partnership, and will deepen bilateral cooperation across sectors.
The EU council on Monday said that the India-EU summit will take place on Tuesday. The summit will also witness the formal announcement of the proposed Free Trade Agreement between both sides.
“Together, the EU and India represent almost one fifth of global trade. In 2024, EU-India trade in goods exceeded €120 billion,” the EU council said in the post on X.
The conclusion of negotiations for the proposed FTA was announced by commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal. He said the deal is “balanced and forward-looking,” which will help improve India’s economic integration with the EU.
“Negotiations have been successfully concluded. The deal has been finalised. It will propel trade and investments in both economies,” Agrawal said.
He added that the deal will come into effect next year, adding that “legal scrubbing” of the text would take five to six months, following which formal signing would be completed.
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