Successful India makes world more stable, says von der Leyen after R-Day parade

NEW DELHI: The presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at the Republic Day celebrations emphasises the growing strength of the India-European Union (EU) partnership and will deepen bilateral cooperation across sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

Von der Leyen, who has said that India and the EU are coming together to provide an alternative to a “fractured world”, remarked on social media that 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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This is only the second time that India has invited the leaders of a bloc – after Asean in 2018 – to be chief guests at the annual display of the country’s military might and the EU leaders will join Modi on Tuesday for the India-EU Summit that is expected to produce a shared vision for navigating the geoeconomic churn sparked by the trade and security policies of the Trump administration.

Modi wrote on social media that India was privileged to host Costa and Von der Leyen at the Republic Day celebrations and their “presence underscores the growing strength of the India-European Union partnership and our commitment to shared values”. He added, “The visit will add momentum to the deepening engagement and cooperation between India and Europe across diverse sectors.”

Europe and India, as the world’s largest democracies, are committed to work together to “shape a new global order”, Von der Leyen added on social media.

A contingent consisting of EU military staff and the EU naval operations Atalanta and Aspides participated in the Republic Day parade, marking the first such engagement outside Europe. Von der Leyen said this display of the flags of the EU military staff and the maritime missions was a “powerful symbol of our deepening security cooperation”. This, she added, will culminate with the signing of the Security and Defence Partnership on Tuesday.

Costa and Von der Leyen also attended the “At Home” reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Besides a formal announcement on the conclusion of talks on an ambitious free trade agreement and the finalisation of the Security and Defence Partnership, the summit is expected to see the signing of a framework agreement on mobility. The two sides will also launch talks for a Security of Information Agreement to drive collaboration in sensitive areas such as defence and technology.

EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, after witnessing the Republic Day parade, signalled that the FTA will be firmed up on Tuesday. “There could be no more fitting moment to reaffirm our partnership – and to strengthen it further through the conclusion of an ambitious EU-India FTA,” he said on social media.

Von der Leyen said last week that India and the EU are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement that will create a market of two billion people accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP. The two sides launched negotiations for the FTA in 2007, before suspending the talks in 2013 due to a gap in ambition. The negotiations were relaunched in June 2022 and the two sides set a target for concluding talks by the end of 2025.