The European Union and India on Monday launched a joint Trade and Technology Council at a meeting in New Delhi to deepen cooperation.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said the European Union and India are bound by decades of close partnership.

“They are determined to increase joint efforts to tackle current challenges and address geopolitical circumstances. This relationship is more important than ever,” she said.

According to her, the council aims to provide the political steer and the necessary structure to operationalise political decisions.

“It will also coordinate technical work and report to the political level to ensure implementation and follow-up in areas that are important for the sustainable progress of European and Indian economies.

“Our teams will soon begin negotiations on trade and investment agreements,” she said.

The council is the second of its kind for the EU and it has a similar arrangement with the United States.

The EU, like the U.S. and Britain, is currently working to improve relations with India, the world’s second-largest country by population and its largest democracy.

India continues to maintain close diplomatic, trade and military ties with Russia, buying up cheap oil as Western countries impose sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is also heavily dependent on Russian arms supplies.

The two sides also discussed trade. The EU is India’s third-largest trading partner but attempts in the past to reach a free-trade deal have remained without success.

(dpa/NAN)