Press Release: Mandelson: EU seeks ambitious trade pact with ‘indispensable’ India

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has argued that an ambitious Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU could provide a big boost to both economies and shore up global demand if the world economy begins to cool. Speaking to the EU-India Business Summit ahead of the EU-India Summit tomorrow he said that reinforcing strong Indian economic growth was now an 'integral part of maintaining global economic demand and a healthy global economy' and 'a mark of India's growing weight in the world… India is now an indispensable part of the global economic architecture'.

The 8th EU-India Summit took place on 30 November 2007 in New Delhi. The Summit confirmed the strengthening of EU-India relations: on the agenda were issues like trade, energy, climate change, WTO talks, as well as regional issues such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Africa, the Middle East, and Pakistan.

European Commission: DG External Relations: Countries: The EU's relations with India http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/india/intro/index.htm

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