I am delighted to welcome Their Excellencies Mr. Herman Van Rompuy and Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso to the first India-European Union Summit in India after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.

We have just concluded extremely productive and wide-ranging discussions in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere.

India and the European Union are strategic partners in a fast changing and complex world. The success of Europe’s political and economic integration is vital for global stability and prosperity. The European Union leaders informed me of the steps being taken by Europe to deal with the debt crisis in the Eurozone. I conveyed to them our best wishes for an early and sustained recovery. Given our rapidly growing links with Europe, this is in India’s interest. Europe’s recovery is also essential for ensuring the recovery of the global economy and bringing back market confidence.

Our trade with Europe has reached 107 billion US dollars in 2011. Both sides have made considerable progress in the negotiations on the Broad-Based Trade and Investment Agreement. There are complex issues involved, but we have both agreed to expedite discussions so that we can conclude an Agreement at the very earliest. We seek solutions that are practical, mutually beneficial and acceptable to both sides.

I conveyed to the EU leadership the importance India attaches to EU`s participation in our growth agenda including in infrastructure development, clean energy technologies, innovation, research and skill development. Greater investment flows in both directions in a win-win proposition for both sides.

The signing of a Joint Declaration on Research and Innovation Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Statistical Cooperation are forward looking documents which will further integrate our economies.

I raised the issue of greater people-to-people exchanges and easier travel arrangements for tourism, businesspersons, professionals and other categories of travelers. We have agreed to continue our discussions on these matters.

India’s relations with the European Union go well beyond economic and commercial issues. We share common values of democracy, respect for civil liberties and the rule of law. We have healthy and frank exchanges on political and security issues of bilateral, regional and global importance.

The India-EU Joint Action Plan which was adopted in 2005 and reviewed in 2008 is the template of our cooperation, and covers the entire spectrum of our relations.

We held substantive discussions on other areas of our engagement covering energy cooperation, science and technology, culture, counter-terrorism, piracy and cyber-security.

We exchanged views on the situation in West Asia, with particular reference to Syria and Iran and developments in our neighbourhood in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have a common interest in promoting stability in these areas.

We discussed global challenges such as climate change, the global economic crisis and global governance reforms. We would like to work with Europe at the forthcoming international conferences on Nuclear Security in Korea, the G-20 Summit in Mexico, the Rio+20 Conference in Brazil and Biological Diversity Conference in India.

Our discussions today reinforce my belief that our partnership with the European Union will continue to grow in the coming years. India looks forward to working with the European Union on all issues. This is a partnership that will assume greater global significance in the years to come.