By IANS
New Delhi : India Thursday hoped for early negotiations on a broad-based trade and investment agreement with the European Union (EU).
"We look forward to an early launch of the negotiations," Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his opening remarks at a press conference after the India-EU Ministerial Troika Meeting in Berlin.
The move had been agreed to at the India-EU Summit at Helsinki last October and "we have noted that the Council of the EU has recently approved the mandate for the European Commission to launch negotiations on the trade and investment agreement with India", Mukherjee noted.
A transcript of the minister's remarks was made available by the external affairs ministry here.
According to Mukherjee, the EU, with which India has a strategic partnership since 2004, "is important to India collectively and individually. It is an important trade, technology and investment partner. The EU is also home to a large Indian diaspora".
Speaking about strategic partnership, the minister said that cooperation in the fields of science & technology, research and energy were among the important areas.
In this context, he noted that New Delhi had, in February, hosted an important India-EU ministerial meeting on science that had identified areas of future cooperation in the fields of drug development, clean energy and infectious diseases.
"India and the EU are cooperating on the ITER nuclear fusion energy project. Steady progress is also being achieved in the context of the India-EU energy panel that is focusing on cooperation in the fields of clean and renewable energy, coal and petroleum and natural gas," the minister added.
According to him, India and the EU were "partners working together" in addressing global challenges such as terrorism; promoting development which is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable; ensuring energy security and in the effective management of globalization.
"Together, we believe we can make a difference," Mukherjee said.
Speaking about the India-EU Troika Meeting, Mukherjee said had provided "a useful opportunity to review the entire gamut of our strategic partnership and prepare for the Summit level interaction later this year in India.
"We are convinced that the Summit will mark a new phase in our strategic partnership," he added.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress made since the Helsinki Summit.
"The major areas of cooperation under the Joint Action Plan have seen progress. The dialogue and consultation mechanisms have been strengthened. Our president addressed the European Parliament last month in Strasbourg, the first such address by an Indian President," Mukherjee noted.
"We were also able to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest such as the fight against terrorism, Afghanistan, Iran, energy and climate change issues," he added.