By Pushpranjan, EuAsiaNews,
New Delhi : The 10th EU-India Summit began here today.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt whose country holds the current EU Presidency, JoséManuel Barroso-President of the European Commission, Benita Ferrero-Waldner- EU Commissioner for External Relations and EU Commissioner for Trade- Catherine Ashton are attending the summit from the EU side, while Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leading his country.
The one-day summit will discuss various global issues, such as terrorism, climate change, energy security and the global financial crisis.
The main focus of the summit is to have an agreement in the field of civil nuclear that will facilitate joint research in fusion energy.
The agreement “aims at intensifying cooperation to develop scientific understanding and technological capability underlying the fusion system in the long term. It will develop a specific agenda for fusion research cooperation that goes far beyond ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Research project),” the European Commission said here today.
The agreement will mark India’s formal participation in ITER, an ambitious multi-country project to be based in Cadarache in France at an estimated cost of about 4.6 billion Euro (Rs 25,000 crore). The project involves the US, EU, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.
This summit marks a decade of growing relations, and seeks to further deepen relations between the two strategic partners in key areas of cooperation. It aims to enhance dialogue and cooperation on issues of major global concern such as climate change, energy security and fight against terrorism, as well as prominent regional issues and bilateral trade.
A day before the summit, India’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma met EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton and said that the two sides are looking at doubling the trade to USD 200 billion in the next four years.
The participants are also discussing questions concerning the international response to the global financial crisis and the reform of international financial institutions following the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.
The EU-India Annual Summit, first held in 2000, provided a platform for diplomatic dialogue between the two global entities and paved the way in 2004 for a concrete strategic partnership.