India-EU Trade and Technology Council to meet in Brussels – Photo: ISPI

The first Ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) begins today.

The Bilateral forum will facilitate dialogue between India and EU countries on cooperation in critical technologies, digital governance and green and clean energy. Indian PM Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the TTC in April 2022. The TTC aims to create mechanisms on trade and technology to deepen strategic partnership between India and the EU.

Expect the meeting to open new avenues of cooperation between EU countries with India, especially in regard to recent technological advances. Working group on sharing of Artificial intelligence, semiconductors, 5G-6G technologies and quantum computing are expected to boost investments and market access in the region.  The EU’s economy was affected by disruptions in supply chains due to the war in Ukraine. By expanding trade with India, the EU aims to reduce vulnerabilities associated with reliance on Russia and China. This also allows EU countries to engage with India’s partners in the Indo- Pacific region on trade and technology. In the longer run, a successful partnership can also translate into tangible outcomes for the negotiations of the India- EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).