Hoge Vertegenwoordiger Ashton benadrukt sterke relatie EU met India (en)

EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 30 January 2013

Remarks by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton at her press conference with Indian Minister for External Affairs,

Salman Khurshid

It is a great pleasure to have you here, Minister Salman Khurshid, on your first visit to the EU and the EE AS

We have been talking about the strong strategic partnership between the European Union and India. And the opportunities we have to expand that partnership into new areas, where we have many shared values. Our partnership features regular political consultations and growing ties between our civil societies which we place great value upon

We are looking of course to develop our links on political and security issues, trade and investment, science and technology, and economic cooperation and also on energy, an issue that we have touched upon today

Our relationship, founded upon close cultural and historical ties, has become both wider and deeper since the Strategic Partnership was established in 2004

We also work together with the common objective of promoting global peace, stability and prosperity. And as we have discussed today, we are also committed to ensuring that we conclude our Free Trade Agreement as rapidly as possible

So, Minister we took stock today of where we are, we look forward to the Summit that we will have this year, and we also had the chance to talk around the issues that concern us in our neighbourhoods and across the world

So as I began Minister, thank you so much for coming. It has been a delight to meet with you and I look forward to collaborating with you in the future and to continuing to develop even stronger relationships between the European Union and India

Thank you