NEW DELHI:
India and the European Union will host the next edition of their
Summit on July 15 with focus on strengthening rule of law,
democracy and right to freedom amid China's belligerence both at home and abroad including LAC.
The 15th edition of the summit originally scheduled on March 13 but postponed owing to Covid will be held virtually. ET was the first to report on Monday about the possibility of the Summit in July 3rd week.
This will be India's first multilateral summit that will be held since Sino-Indian stand-off early May and also the first since the outbreak of Covid. Key European powers France and Germany had backed the Indian position during the stand-off with the French Defence Minister willing to visit India in near future to strengthen
defence partnership.
The EU will be represented by Charles Michel, President of
the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of
the European Commission. India will be represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As the world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders will discuss
global cooperation and solidarity to protect lives, to mitigate the socio-economic consequences and to strengthen preparedness and response capacities, officials told ET.
The leaders are also expected to reiterate their determination to promote effective multilateralism and a rules-based multilateral order, with
the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organisation (
WTO) at its core, officials informed. They will also discuss global and regional issues. This is expected to include current developments in Asia from the Afghan theatre to
Indo-Pacific region.
The summit will be an opportunity to strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership, based on shared principles and values of democracy, freedom, rule of law, and respect for human rights, aiming at delivering concrete benefits for the people in the EU and India, according to an official. Leaders will discuss cooperation in security, climate, environment, trade and investment, digital economy and connectivity, officials added.