European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Chief Guests for India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations, were greeted with a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour in New Delhi. Union Minister Jitin Prasada welcomed Costa upon his arrival for the state visit. The visit aims to strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership.
President Costa expressed his honor to attend the 16th EU-India Summit on the eve of India’s Republic Day. President von der Leyen, also part of the delegation, arrived earlier and was received by Minister Prasada. The summit will focus on enhancing collaboration in trade, security, defense, clean energy, and people-to-people ties.
The leaders are set to adopt a joint comprehensive strategic agenda during the summit, emphasizing cooperation in prosperity, sustainability, technology, security, defense, connectivity, and global issues. Discussions will include ongoing free trade agreement negotiations since 2007 and closer cooperation in security and defense matters. The agenda also covers regional and global topics like the Indo-Pacific region, Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Middle East situation.
