India and Europe hope to strike the "mother of all deals" when EU chiefs meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this week, as the two economic behemoths seek to forge closer ties.
Facing challenges from China and the United States, India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact and talks, first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line.
"We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week.
Von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa will attend Republic Day celebrations today before an EU-India summit tomorrow, where they hope to shake hands on the accord.
Securing a pact described by India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as "the mother of all deals", would be a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open up new markets in the face of U.S. tariffs and Chinese export controls.
But officials have been eager to stress there is more to it than commerce.
"The EU and India are moving closer together at the time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars, coercion and economic fragmentation," the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas said.
Together the EU and India account for about a quarter of the world's population and GDP.
Bilateral trade in goods reached 120 billion euros ($139 billion) in 2024, an increase of nearly 90 percent over the past decade, according to EU figures, with a further 60 billion euros ($69 billion) in trade in services.
EU makers of cars, machinery and chemicals have much to gain from India lowering entry barriers, said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, an analyst at Brussels think tank Bruegel, who led EU trade talks with New Delhi over a decade ago.
