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In 2014, India and the EU hosted the two biggest democratic elections of the world. It is now time to work for closer economic ties between the two sides.The European Union is already India's first trading partner, with annual trade in goods and services of 100 billion, and it is worth noting that trade in both goods and services is roughly balanced. The EU is also the biggest investor in India, with a stock of some 175 billion in the period 2004-13.Many European companies - for example in my field of work, information and communication technologies - are active in India, manufacturing, working on research and innovation, and providing business services for their global markets from their bases in India. Some of them have been doing this for quite a long time: Ericsson has been in India since 1903, and today employs 16,000 people there, more than this global company has in Sweden. Overall, European ICT companies alone are directly responsible for the creation of more than 100,000 jobs in India, and for many more in the different supplier companies.“Make in India” can lead to further EU investments by improving the ease of doing business and by providing a non-discriminatory, stable and predictable business environment. We appreciate that India's government has already taken encouraging steps in that direction.A further opening of trade between India and the EU would significantly increase benefits for both sides. The EU therefore remains committed to an ambitious and broad-based trade and investment agreement.India and the EU both have ambitious agendas to stimulate economic growth and contribute to a positive development of our societies. Information and communication technologies play a crucial role in the implementation of these agendas: on the one side is “Digital India” and the European Union just launched its “Digital Single Market” programme.I would suggest that India and the EU explore synergies and establish links between these two flagship programmes, for example by establishing and intensifying cooperation on important topics such as ICT standardisation or research and innovation. We could for example support presentations of innovative start-up companies from India and Europe, and bring them together in a network.In the field of ICT, in our bilateral dialogues we discuss topics of interest and new fields of cooperation: The “India-EU Joint ICT Working Group” and “India-EU ICT Business Dialogue” last met last in New Delhi in January of this year and the EU-India Cyber Security Consultations were held on 21 May in Brussels.The EU remains strongly interested in cooperating and engaging with India, both on content issues and on the new flagship initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities. For these, the EU and its Member States, as well as companies of EU origin have comparative advantages and many relevant experiences to share.
The above article was published in India Inc's print edition of the India Investment Journal launched in June 2015 in conjunction with the Policy India Roundtable 2015.