Ursula von der Leyen to travel to India to resume trade deal talks

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will make her first foreign trip during her new term in office to India.

According to Politico, the purpose of the visit will be to strengthen relations with the world’s largest democracy.

The politician made this statement during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She noted that Europe is becoming an increasingly attractive partner for Africa before Asia.

“That is why the first trip of my new Commission will be to India. Together with Prime Minister Modi, we want to improve the strategic partnership with the largest country and democracy in the world,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU is looking to step up negotiations on a trade deal with India, especially now that US President Donald Trump has returned to the White House.

Earlier, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal visited Belgium and met with European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. The next round of negotiations on the free trade agreement is scheduled for March 10-14 in Brussels. The talks were also attended by the head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The publication writes that Trump’s re-election prompted von der Leyen to take action on trade: in December, she signed a long-awaited agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur, last week the EU revised its trade agreement with Mexico, and on Monday resumed trade talks with Malaysia after a break of more than a decade.

Tags: EU, India