Brussels [Belgium], July 16 (ANI): The third meeting of the India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) on Wednesday advanced cooperation across three key working groups covering strategic technologies and digital connectivity, clean and green technologies, and trade, investment and resilient value chains, with both sides announcing a series of initiatives in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, green technologies, startups and supply chain resilience.
The India-EU TTC met for the third time in Brussels on July 15, and the meeting was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada from the Indian side.
The European Union side was represented by European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Sefcovic, and Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva.
Established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2022, the India-EU TTC serves as a key platform to address challenges related to trade, trusted technology and security while strengthening bilateral cooperation.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said the meeting reviewed ongoing cooperation in strategic technologies, digital connectivity, clean energy, trade, investments and resilient supply chains.
“Concluded a productive meeting of the India – EU Trade and Technology Council alongside CIM Piyush Goyal, MoS MEITY Jitin Prasada and Principle Scientific Advisor Prof Ajay K Sood. Thank EVP Henna Virkkunen, Commissioners Ekaterina Zaharieva and Maros Sefcovic, for their useful inputs and deliberations,” EAM wrote.
“As international economy faces supply chain chokepoints, market access issues and technology gaps; trusted and reliable partnerships like that of India and EU show the way forward. Reviewed our ongoing cooperation in strategic technologies & digital connectivity, clean energy, trade, investments and resilient supply chains. Also focused on emerging technologies, skilling, deep tech startups, green hydrogen and EV & batteries. Confident that today’s TTC meeting will take forward the strong momentum of our partnership enabled by the India – EU FTA, Security and Defence partnership and the Mobility Framework,” he added.
According to the joint statement issued following the meeting, under the first working group, India and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, digital governance and next-generation telecommunications.
Both sides agreed to continue technical work to improve interoperability of digital trust services, including e-signatures, and explore cooperation on digital wallet interoperability, including a possible pilot linking the EU Digital Identity Wallet and India’s DigiLocker.
India and the EU also agreed to explore the development of a Joint Artificial Intelligence Roadmap and continue sharing best practices on responsible AI adoption, including governance approaches for emerging AI applications.
The two sides further agreed to deepen cooperation in high-performance computing and quantum technologies, including joint research and knowledge exchange in areas such as natural hazards, climate change and bioinformatics.
On semiconductors, India and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to building secure and trusted semiconductor supply chains. Both sides agreed to hold a joint India-EU roundtable during Semicon India 2026 and strengthen collaboration in semiconductor research, capacity building, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals supply chains.
The two sides will also explore cooperation between semiconductor design facilities under the India Semiconductor Mission and EU pilot lines under the EU Chips Act.
Under the second working group on clean and green technologies, India and the EU welcomed progress in research and innovation cooperation and announced plans to begin formal negotiations on India’s association with Horizon Europe, the EU’s EUR 93.5 billion research and innovation funding programme.
The move aims to enable Indian researchers and innovators to participate fully in the programme from 2027, subject to the completion of negotiations and internal procedures.
Both sides also agreed to establish the first India-EU Innovation Hub focused on electric vehicle charging technologies and testing. The hub will be driven by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Automotive Research Association of India and will bring together research capabilities, testing infrastructure, standards expertise and startup ecosystems.
India and the EU also highlighted progress under a joint investment of EUR 60 million over four years to support collaborative research projects through Horizon Europe.
The projects include initiatives on renewable hydrogen production from agricultural and industrial waste, marine pollution monitoring using AI-driven models and advanced biosensors, and recycling of electric vehicle batteries with a focus on critical raw material recovery.
Both sides will continue cooperation on hydrogen-related safety standards, hydrogen valleys, electric mobility and green technologies.
The third working group focused on strengthening economic cooperation, enhancing supply chain resilience and addressing vulnerabilities in key sectors.
India and the EU agreed to continue efforts to build transparent, predictable, diversified and sustainable value chains in sectors including agri-food, active pharmaceutical ingredients and clean technologies.
Both sides discussed cooperation on food security, supply chain resilience for pharmaceutical ingredients, renewable energy technologies and reducing trade barriers.
The two sides also welcomed progress in addressing market access issues through the TTC framework and stressed the importance of achieving outcomes in areas including technical regulations, Quality Control Orders and relevant EU regulations.
India and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to the multilateral trading system and highlighted the need for reforms to address contemporary trade challenges.
The joint statement also noted further cooperation between the two sides, with India and the EU agreeing to explore a dedicated platform under the TTC for the Blue Valleys initiative, aimed at developing sector-specific industrial clusters involving regulators, industry, startups and other stakeholders.
Both sides also agreed to establish a Deep-Tech Startup Partnership involving stakeholders including the European Innovation Council and Start-Up India to support cross-border market access and commercialisation opportunities for deep-tech startups.
The two sides further agreed to hold the India-EU Business Forum annually and conduct regular sector-specific industry interactions focusing on priority areas.
India and the EU also agreed to hold the next Ministerial Meeting of the Trade and Technology Council in New Delhi in 2027.
Both sides said the TTC would continue to support a more integrated, resilient and sustainable economic partnership between India and the European Union. (ANI)