By INEPNEXT
Brussels: Relations between India and the 27-member European Union are growing fast and New Delhi’s ties with Islamabad are also improving, according to Indian External Affairs Minister Mr.Pranab Mukherjee.
“Relations between EU and India expanding very fast. The EU as an entity is the largest trading bloc of India
and is also an important investor in India . Indian companies are also investing in the EU,” Mukherjee told INEPNEXT news agency in an exclusive interview in Brussels Wednesday.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana met Mukherjee in the German city of Hamburg at the sidelines of a meeting of EU and Asian foreign ministers Tuesday and discussed EU-India ties and other international issues.
In the meeting, Solana called for more frequent political dialogue with India.
An EU-India foreign ministers’ meeting will be held in Berlin on Thursday
Germany currently holds the rotating EU Presidency.
Mukherjee is in Brussels Wednesday for a meeting with Indian ambassadors accredited to the EU to discuss ways to strengthen relations between Europe and India.
“We do recognize this important development among European countries over the years” , said Mukherjee in reference to the expansion of the EU to include 27 countries.
He clarified that expansion of EU-India relations will not have any effect on India’s traditional ties with individual EU member states like UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc.
“We are expanding our bilateral relations and also with EU as an entity. One does not contradict the other,” he stressed.
In reply a question if India was thinking of cooperating with the EU in resolving international conflicts and problems particularly in the Middle East region like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, he said “we are directly
affected because in the region we have a large number of Indians living there, about 4.5 million.”
The minister noted that India imports a large quantum of petroleum from the Middle East .
“In addition to that, we have traditional links with the countries in the region, like Iran. Therefore if in these areas uncertainty and instability prevails,naturally we feel concerned and we try to evolve a mechanism
through which these problems could be sorted out.”
Mukherjee said the problems should be resolved through peaceful means and not in a strait-jacket formula but taking into account the region’s history, geographical location and its tradition.
India wants to develop its ties positively with these countries and in our own way we try to defuse the tension if we can, he added.
Referring to relations with Pakistan, Mukherjee said “bilaterally we are improving our relationship between India and Pakistan.”
“We have this framework of composite dialogue where there are eight items over which we are having discussions. Three rounds of discussions have beencompleted. The fourth round of discussions have begun and our bilateral cooperation is expanding steadily,” the minister told INEPNEXT.