00:00Good morning, Maven. Of course, India and our strategic relationship to the European Union,
00:04and you alluded to the summit taking place, hosted by Prime Minister Modi, but also what
00:08is interesting is to see this major European delegation participating to the French president,
00:14but also the Spanish Prime Minister among the European delegation. And to debrief,
00:18I'm happy to say we're joined by India's ambassador to the EU, Ambassador Kumar. Thank you very much
00:23for joining us on Euronews. I have to ask you about the summit in India, but before we get to
00:29that point, why this relationship now? Is it a necessity, or is there really strategic thinking
00:36between the ties of the EU and India? It definitely is a strategic thinking. We live in a multipolar
00:44world today. EU and India are important poles in the configuration, and for us, it is important as
00:53two important poles of the multipolar global order to cooperate with each other, and not only for our
01:00mutual benefit, but for the global stability also. And just to pick up on that point, the reason why
01:05I asked, is this born out of necessity, or is it strategic, is because some would argue there's
01:11been much closer ties because of President Trump, and the chaos at some point that he's unleashed in
01:16some ways with tariffs, not just in India, but also in the European Union. But if I understand correctly,
01:21what you're saying is, regardless of who's in the White House, this is a relationship that will
01:26grow in time. Yeah. India-EU relationship stands on its own feet. Geopolitical environment, of course,
01:35has an impact on everything, but our relationship has its own merit. And on that point, you speak about
01:43the relationship. We were in India when this mother of all trade deals were signed. The two sides talked
01:48about a deal that is uncommon now in this geopolitical context, and that is a win-win. But for that
01:54to
01:54become a real win-win, you need to implement it. When are we going to see the deal being implemented,
01:59both in the European Union, but also to that extent, in India?
02:03We are ready. So as long, as quickly as the EU is able to complete its internal processes,
02:09we would be in a position to sign the deal. And do you worry, however, about the speed
02:14when it comes to the different levels in Europe? The European Parliament has questions, of course,
02:20they always do, and that is part of the democratic process. But is this something that worries you
02:24that perhaps by 2027, we'll still talk about a hypothetical deal, not a real deal?
02:28No, we are very confident that the deal would be signed very quickly.
02:32And is there a timeline still that you're working with, a best-case scenario?
02:36It would be unfair on my part to speculate timelines. It is really for the European Union to decide.
02:44But my understanding is that both the sides would be working fast to
02:49see that this deal is signed as quickly as possible.
02:52And Ambassador, this week, as I mentioned at the start, there is a big European delegation
02:57in India. There is an AI summit that will be taking place. And of course, the French president
03:02is part of that delegation there for three days. To me, and I just came back from the Munich Security
03:07Conference, there's this term that I hear a lot, and that is de-risking the European economy,
03:12both now from China, but also the United States, which is funny and unthinkable a few years ago.
03:17What role can India play? Because to me, it seems this is what this trip is about,
03:21is de-risking the European economy.
03:24Over-dependencies are not good. There is need to have redundancies built in supply chains to have
03:33multiple options. And the consequences of over-concentration of supply chain, both of the
03:40sides, both of us, and in fact, the world at large has experienced. So I think the India-EU FTA
03:48is very,
03:48very important also from the point of view of de-risking our respective economies, building in
03:57redundancies, having more manufacturing options. And I think in this respect also, I think the deal
04:05would serve a very useful purpose.
04:08And Ambassador, beyond and of course, this AI summit seems to now signal that this is a relationship that
04:14goes not just straight, but is going to go into potential technology and most crucially, defense.
04:20For India, it is also a geopolitical complex moment in a neighborhood that is difficult to handle.
04:26We've seen also India purchase big weapons from the French in particular. Do you look at this
04:31relationship as one that becomes almost defensive at some point?
04:35So let me tell you, we have around 20 presidents and prime ministers participating in the AI summit.
04:45And of them, 11 are from Europe. So that speaks for itself. Technology and defense, I think,
04:53are very, very important area. A lot of progress was made both on the technology, technological front,
05:01as well as on the defense side during the recently concluded summit, which opens a new phase in
05:07India-EU relationship. So you're right in saying that as we go further, defense, particularly defense
05:14industries and the technological aspect would become more and more critical and important to
05:21India-EU relationship.
05:22Well, Ambassador Kumar, thank you very much. Of course, that week and that trip that we'll be monitoring on
05:28Euronews. The French president, but also the Spanish prime minister is a relationship that goes now
05:33beyond trade. But interestingly now, it's becoming more and more defensive with big contracts,
05:38of course, for European companies looking to sign in India.
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