Sunday, November 07, 2004
Emerging India set for special EU partnership(Reuters)8 November 2004
BRUSSELS - Once written off as the poor cousin of Asian powerhouse China, India is to open talks today to forge a strategic partnership with the European Union, a status so far restricted to just five big countries.
“India is very interested in this partnership, it will give it the status of a big player,” said an EU official ahead of the bloc’s one-day meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two of his ministers in the Hague, the Netherlands.
“It will put them in a club of EU special partners alongside the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Russia.”
The EU, as a bloc, is both the leading foreign investor in India and its biggest trading partner.
But it ploughs 10 times as much investment into China, and its total trade with India is worth less than 20 percent of the vigorous flow of exports and imports between Europe and China.
Fostering healthier economic relations is a key part of the strategic partnership, an action plan the two sides expect to approve at their next annual meeting in 2005.
But they are also keen to improve cooperation in the battles against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Many Europeans also believe India -- which is pressing for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council -- could be a multilateralist ally in resisting what they see as the current US administration’s unilateralism.
“It is important that we start coordinating with India, not only to strengthen the U.N. but also to make preparations together for international meetings such as those on the protection of women and climate change,” the EU official said.
Shortly before leaving for Europe yesterday, Singh said the two sides were ”natural partners” and welcomed the new arrangement as “recognition of India’s growing stature and influence”.
The tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which New Delhi has long maintained is not a subject for outside mediation, will be discussed at today’s meeting.
“At the summit the EU will encourage India to make progress in agreeing on substantive confidence-building measures ... but we cannot expect a rapid progress: a cautious, gradual approach is needed,” Dutch European Affairs Minister Atzo Nicolai said.
Nicolai, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said the bloc was encouraged by the “shifting parameters in India-Pakistan relations during the last months”.
Singh’s centre-left Congress party, which returned to power at the head of a communist-backed coalition earlier this year, has said it may set up economic zones with advantageous taxes, tariffs and labour laws to encourage foreign investment.
But the European Union will still press Singh — architect of a reform process that got under way in 1991 -- to cut red tape and scrap rules that restrict foreign investors to minority shareholdings in sectors such as civil aviation and financial services.
The EU will also seek a commitment from India to participate in its multibillion-dollar Galileo navigation satellite project, which is due to come on line in 2008 as an alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
China has put up 230 million euros to join. India has spoken of 300 million euros.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2004/November/business_November85.xml§ion=business&col=
“India is very interested in this partnership, it will give it the status of a big player,” said an EU official ahead of the bloc’s one-day meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two of his ministers in the Hague, the Netherlands.
“It will put them in a club of EU special partners alongside the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Russia.”
The EU, as a bloc, is both the leading foreign investor in India and its biggest trading partner.
But it ploughs 10 times as much investment into China, and its total trade with India is worth less than 20 percent of the vigorous flow of exports and imports between Europe and China.
Fostering healthier economic relations is a key part of the strategic partnership, an action plan the two sides expect to approve at their next annual meeting in 2005.
But they are also keen to improve cooperation in the battles against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Many Europeans also believe India -- which is pressing for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council -- could be a multilateralist ally in resisting what they see as the current US administration’s unilateralism.
“It is important that we start coordinating with India, not only to strengthen the U.N. but also to make preparations together for international meetings such as those on the protection of women and climate change,” the EU official said.
Shortly before leaving for Europe yesterday, Singh said the two sides were ”natural partners” and welcomed the new arrangement as “recognition of India’s growing stature and influence”.
The tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which New Delhi has long maintained is not a subject for outside mediation, will be discussed at today’s meeting.
“At the summit the EU will encourage India to make progress in agreeing on substantive confidence-building measures ... but we cannot expect a rapid progress: a cautious, gradual approach is needed,” Dutch European Affairs Minister Atzo Nicolai said.
Nicolai, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said the bloc was encouraged by the “shifting parameters in India-Pakistan relations during the last months”.
Singh’s centre-left Congress party, which returned to power at the head of a communist-backed coalition earlier this year, has said it may set up economic zones with advantageous taxes, tariffs and labour laws to encourage foreign investment.
But the European Union will still press Singh — architect of a reform process that got under way in 1991 -- to cut red tape and scrap rules that restrict foreign investors to minority shareholdings in sectors such as civil aviation and financial services.
The EU will also seek a commitment from India to participate in its multibillion-dollar Galileo navigation satellite project, which is due to come on line in 2008 as an alternative to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
China has put up 230 million euros to join. India has spoken of 300 million euros.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2004/November/business_November85.xml§ion=business&col=
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