The second India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting was held in New Delhi on February 28 after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in India.

On the Indian side, S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry, and Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of electronics and information technology, served as co-chairs.

The joint statement in the press release stated that the EU side was co-chaired by Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Sefcovic, Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, and Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva.

In order to address issues at the intersection of commerce, trusted technology, and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen formed the India-EU TTC in April 2022. In a multipolar world, India and the European Union are ideal allies since they are both sizable, dynamic democracies with diverse cultures, free market economies, and common ideals.

The evolving dynamics of the global geopolitical scene and a shared goal in advancing global stability, economic security, and sustainable and inclusive development are the reasons for the EU and India’s strengthening bilateral ties and increasing strategic convergence.

In this regard, both parties reaffirmed the significance of the rules-based international order and the utmost adherence to the values of territorial integrity, sovereignty, openness, and amicable conflict settlement.

The TTC is a reflection of the EU and India’s mutual recognition of the growing importance of trade and technology ties, the potential for these aspects of cooperation to boost both countries’ economies, and the need for collaborating on the associated security problems.

The news statement also said that both parties see the potential of their collaboration to boost resilience, improve connectivity, and advance the development of clean and green technology.

Previously, on May 16, 2023, the India-EU TTC met for the first time in Brussels. For the future, the TTC Ministerial Meeting offered political direction.

The news announcement was followed by a virtual stock-taking meeting on November 24, 2023, which examined the three TTC working groups’ progress.