Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched for bringing out an "action-oriented" agenda to further expand ties between India and the 27-nation European Union within a stipulated time frame.
In his inaugural remarks at the 15th EU-India summit, Modi said he was committed to enhance ties with the grouping, noting that a long-term strategic perspective should be adopted to boost the relationship.
"We should go for an action-oriented agenda to expand ties and it can be implemented within a stipulated time frame," Modi said at the virtual summit. Calling India and EU as "natural partners", he said the partnership is beneficial for peace and stability in the world.
"India and EU share universal values like democracy, pluralism, respect for international institutions, inclusivity, multilateralism, freedom and transparency," he said, adding that the India-EU partnership can play an important role in economic reconstruction and in building a human-centric globalisation.
The European Union delegation at the summit is headed by President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The EU is a strategically important grouping for India. The EU as a whole was India's largest trading partner in 2018. India's bilateral trade with the EU in 2018-19 stood at $115.6 billion with exports valued at $57.17 billion and imports worth $58.42 billion.
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