00:00Thank you, sir. May I now request Her Excellency, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to give her remarks to the media.
00:12Dear Prime Minister Modi, distinguished friend, Antonio, my friend, ministers, especially Shankar and Guyal, Vice President Callas, Commissioner Sefkovic, Excellencies, friends,
00:27Thank you very much for the exceptional hospitality we experienced. It was such an honor for us to be your chief guests at the Republic Day yesterday.
00:41This is a memory I will carry for a lifetime, because the sense of communion was so powerful.
00:49People filled the streets united in pride and joy of belonging to the Indian nation, and rightfully so.
01:01India has risen, and Europe is truly glad about it, because when India succeeds, the world is more stable, more prosperous, and more secure.
01:14And we all benefit. Prime Minister Modi, dear friend, one year ago, the full College of Commissioners came to India.
01:26You mentioned it. And this is also a very special memory for me.
01:31It showed the seriousness of our intent and the strength of our commitment.
01:37Today, we reap the fruits of that commitment with our historic summit.
01:44And let me start with trade.
01:47Prime Minister, distinguished friend, we did it.
01:52We delivered the mother of all deals.
01:56We are creating a market of two billion people.
02:00And this is the tale of two giants, the world's second and fourth largest economies.
02:08Two giants who choose partnership in a true win-win fashion.
02:15A strong message that cooperation is the best answer to global challenges.
02:21This trade will integrate further our supply chain and strengthen our joint manufacturing power.
02:32It will cut up to four billion euros in annual tariffs for exporters of all sizes.
02:40And it will create good jobs for millions of workers here in India and in Europe.
02:47At the same time, this agreement will build on the natural complementarity of our economies.
02:54It brings together Indian skills, services and scale with Europe's technology, capital and innovation.
03:05It will create levels of growth that neither side can achieve alone.
03:11And by combining these strengths, we reduce strategic dependencies at a time when trade is increasingly weaponized.
03:21We will discuss this and more at our first EU-India Business Forum later today.
03:28I want to offer a special word of thanks to the people who worked so hard to make this day a reality.
03:39Starting with the European Union's Trade Commissioner, Maras Sefkovic, and his counterpart, India's Commerce Minister, Piyush Guyal.
03:49Well, you have done an outstanding work.
03:54This is historic, and it would not have been possible without you.
03:59I also want to pay tribute to their colleagues, Sabine Wayand and Secretary Qayesh Agrawal.
04:07Many others made vital contributions.
04:11I congratulate you all.
04:13The hard work was worth it.
04:15Prime Minister, distinguished friend, we are not only making our economies stronger,
04:22we are also delivering security for our people in an increasingly insecure world.
04:30And today, the world's two largest economies and democracies launch their first-ever security and defense partnership.
04:38This is a landmark departure and a trust-based platform for cooperation on the strategic issues that matter most.
04:51In doing so, we will help to build each other's resilience.
04:56Europe and India have a long history of cooperation in the defense industry.
05:00Now, we will enhance this teamwork even further.
05:06We will deepen our cooperation on maritime security, for example, joint naval exercises to tackle piracy.
05:15And we will step up our work on countering cyber and hybrid threats, which are getting more sophisticated by the day.
05:24And our partnership includes a dedicated dialogue on space security, from situational awareness to secure connectivity.
05:34And stronger cooperation on counterterrorism.
05:38Finally, we are launching negotiations on a security of information agreement.
05:45Europe and India have chosen to be reliable partners to one another.
05:51And this is how we demonstrate the trust we share.
05:57Prime Minister Modi, distinguished friend, I want to turn to innovation.
06:03Because here, too, we share core values.
06:09The freedom of research and science is paramount for us.
06:14Europe and India will always choose science.
06:17We will always choose progress, the way forward.
06:22We will always choose technology at the service of our people.
06:28It's part of who we are.
06:31And our cooperation on human-centric, trustworthy artificial intelligence is one of the best examples.
06:39So, today, I'm glad to announce that we are working on India's association with Horizon Europe.
06:47Backed by funding firepower of 100 billion euros, Horizon is the world's largest public research program.
06:56And I can't wait for our best talents to get to work, to advance health, clean energy, frontier technologies, just to name some.
07:05Now, we will set up EU-India Innovation Hubs.
07:10This will help researchers and start-ups to collaborate on next-generation technology.
07:16And we are also launching the EU-India Start-Up Partnership to boost co-creation and high-potential ventures.
07:25Finally, Prime Minister Di Narenda, we both know our greatest wealth are our people.
07:34That is why I'm so glad that we are signing an agreement on mobility.
07:40We will facilitate the movement of students, researchers, seasonal and highly skilled workers.
07:46And this is also why we are launching the first EU Legal Gateway Office in India.
07:55It will be a one-stop hub to support Indian talent moving to Europe in full alignment with EU member states' needs and policies.
08:06This is good for our economies.
08:09This is good for the friendship between our people.
08:12And this openness benefits us all.
08:16As we conclude this 16th summit, let me reflect on another event of deep meaning.
08:26Two weeks ago, India marked Makar Sankrati.
08:34It's the beginning of Uttarayan, the sun's northward journey.
08:40From darkness to light, from stillness to growth, from what was to what can be.
08:51And that is what makes our summit so unique and timely.
08:56The time is right for renewal, for fresh momentum and for opening a new chapter in EU-India friendship.
09:05And this is exactly what we have achieved together.
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