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New Delhi, Nov. 4: The 10th India-European Union summit is expected to give a fresh impetus to the proposed trade and investment pact and expand cooperation in the fields of climate change, migration, energy security and counter-terrorism.
Sweden is holding the current presidency of the 27-country bloc. Swedish Prime Minister Frendrik Fredrik Reinfeldt will arrive here tomorrow for the summit.
The trade and investment pact is expected to get a further push at the summit. The India-EU trade is growing at 20 per cent annually.
The two sides had agreed to double trade to 100 billion euros in five years at the summit in Marseilles in France in September last year.
Daniele Smadja, ambassador and head of the EU delegation in New Delhi, said last week that non-trade issues like child labour and environment were key policy concerns and needed to be addressed within the framework of the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between India and the EU.
India has voiced reservations over non-trade issues as it feels its a ploy of the developed countries to undercut its competitiveness.
The two sides have held seven rounds of talks. With the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen only over a month away, global warming will be another major topic of discussion.
The EU is expected to make another push to bring India closer to its stance on climate change.
The other issues at the summit table include counter-terrorism, migration, energy security and education.
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