The European Union (EU) and India are already working to set up a partnership for security and defence in order to tackle any cross-border terrorism or attack on critical infrastructure, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. This is expected to expand on India’s existing maritime security cooperation with the EU, but serve to deepen India’s involvement in the EU defence industrial projects and thus broaden its military supplies.
Both sides are exploring a ‘security and defence’ partnership similar to those the EU has had with Japan and South Korea, Von der Leyen said, speaking at an event organized by India’s World magazine. She especially emphasized that this partnership is not just about regional stability but rather fundamental in terms of strengthening economic security and long-term prosperity.
When the agreement is formalised, it will help the two countries work together on common security challenges that pose key threats to maritime, cyber, and critical infrastructure. Underlined the need for closer collaboration in security matters, Von der Leyen stated: “This is a key part of our new strategic partnership with India.”
India and the EU have already made progress in strengthening the defence ties. When visited in October 2023, the two sides also staged their first joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea, a show of maritime security. In November, it posted its first ever military attaché in New Delhi, a sign of a deeper kind of security cooperation. In particular, this step is strategically important – not least as the EU has military attachés in fewer than 15 countries.
In February 2022, the EU also started a coordinated maritime presence in the northwestern Indian Ocean, and Europe gained a footprint in the Indo-Pacific. In 2024, a joint delegation from India’s armed forces and the Ministry of External Affairs visits Brussels to discuss.
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