"Important for EU to have good ties with...": European expert explains India's rise and what it means for Europe

The relationship with India is one of the key partnerships that Europe needs to strengthen amidst global geopolitical tensions. An expert from the European Parliament, Angelos Delivorias, provides valuable insights into the multifaceted dimensions of India's rise and its implications for EU-India relations.

The relationship with India is one of the key partnerships that Europe needs to strengthen amidst global geopolitical tensions. An expert from the European Parliament, Angelos Delivorias, provides valuable insights into the multifaceted dimensions of India's rise and its implications for EU-India relations. Delivorias underscores India's transition from a middle power to a potential great power, even a superpower, attributing this evolution to its economic power, military might, and burgeoning diplomatic influence.

"India is a middle power on its way, according to some specialists, to become a great power, a superpower. This can be viewed from perspective of four different elements. So the economic power, the military might and the diplomatic influence, which also sometimes incorporates the soft power, are important for us and they are important in general," he said. Angelos, with a specialisation in external policies (including India), is a policy expert at European Parliamentary Research (EPRS), which provides comprehensive research and analytical support to the Members of the European Parliament.

Set against escalating great power rivalries and geopolitical tensions, India's strategic importance to the EU becomes increasingly evident. India's future trajectory will have a significant impact on the EU's ability to achieve its global economic, political and climate change ambitions. "In the current geopolitical environment of great power rivalry between the US and China and of the Russia-Ukraine war, it is important for the EU to increase its ties and to have good ties with a strategic partner and with the largest democracy in the region, the most populous democracy," the European Parliament policy expert said in an interview by EPRS.

On the diplomatic front, India's growing influence is palpable, according to Delivorias, who also highlighted India's pivotal role as a founding member of BRICS and its presidency of the G20 summit in 2023 as key indicators of its expanding diplomatic footprint. "BRICS, in one perspective, symbolises one particular axis right now, whereas the G20 would also be viewed as the biggest economies from industrialised nations, as well as the western part."

"India tries to strike a balance between the East and the West... to position itself as a leader of the Global South," Delivorias explains, elucidating India's nuanced approach to navigating diverse geopolitical axes. However, alongside opportunities, Delivorias sheds light on India's ambitious task of creating enough jobs for millions of people annually.

Despite these challenges, India's economic trajectory remains promising, with high growth rates surpassing even those of China. "It has a comprehensive economic strategy... significant investments in national infrastructure projects... [and] even a complete space programme," Delivorias elaborated. There is a growing recognition across European capitals that Europe has to rebalance its economic relationships in the global economy, beyond its reliance on China.

One of the key partnerships that Europe will need to strengthen is bound to be the one with India: the fifth-largest economy in the world, poised to overtake Germany and Japan within this decade to become third behind the US and China. India-EU relations date to the early 1960s, with India being amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community.

The relationship between India and the European Union (EU) is based on shared values and principles such as democracy, rule of law, rules based international order and multilateralism. The ties are multifaceted and cover a broad spectrum of topics including trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, digital, connectivity and agriculture, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)

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