India and EU to build joint infrastructure projects.

Following series of bilateral talks, an official of the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the EU and India have agreed on launching several joint infrastructure projects in Africa, Central Asia, and the Indo-Pacific regions.

These talks also presented an opportunity for both sides to resume free trade negotiations which were previously halted in 2013 due to unresolved differences on issues such as data security, patent protection, and tariff reductions. 

They equally considered partnership options with regards to the war on climate change. This deeper cooperation is largely connected to the shared concerns of both parties about the dominance of China in the region and beyond.

“It is no coincidence that items on the Europe-India agenda — maritime security in the Indian Ocean, alternatives to the BRI, emerging technologies, 5G — all have elements of competition with China,”

Garima Mohan

“It is no coincidence that items on the Europe-India agenda — maritime security in the Indian Ocean, alternatives to the BRI, emerging technologies, 5G — all have elements of competition with China,” remarked Garima Mohan, an analyst at German Marshall Fund’s think tank.