The Hindu Business Line : India, EU reiterate commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation

Strengthening ties: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, flanked by the Portugal Prime Minister, Mr Jose Socrates (left), and the President, European Commission, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, before their delegation-level talks at the 8th India-EU Summit, in the Capital on Friday.

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New Delhi, Nov. 30 India and the European Union have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral economic cooperation between them.

A joint statement issued at the end of the India-EU summit here states that both sides reiterate their commitment to the continuation of their financial services regulatory dialogue.

Recognising the benefits of closer cooperation in fostering the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to develop an active dialogue in this field, including cooperation on capacity building activities, human resource development and public awareness programme.

India and the EU also reaffirmed their commitment to the rules-based multilateral trading system and to a deeper level of bilateral relations. “The successful and timely outcome of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) multi-lateral trade negotiations remains the foremost trade policy priority of both,” the statement adds.

The two sides also welcomed the steps taken by the European Investment Bank in India to establish loan-based project funding under its new Asia lending mandate, in particular with reference to the financing instruments supporting projects in the fields of energy sustainability and climate change mitigation.

The leaders encouraged closer cooperation between the Bank and its relevant counterparts here to work towards establishing financing for specific investment projects.

Further, the leaders also underlined the need to keep increasing people-to-people contacts between India and the EU member states for businesspeople, professionals and members of official delegations, as well as researchers, scientists, students, academics and civil society representatives.

Keen on agreement

Addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the summit, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said that India and the European Union were engaged in negotiations to broad base the trade and investment relations between them.

“`There has been a great deal of interest in the agreement,” Dr Singh said adding that the agreement would hopefully be firmed up by the time the next summit is held next year.