The European Union (EU) leadership was the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day parade, a day before India will announce a trade deal and sign a security partnership with the Western bloc in a bid by both sides to “shape a new global order”.
The EU was represented at the parade by European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who will lead the summit-level talks with India on Tuesday. They are accompanied by a high-level delegation, signalling the importance of the visit at a time global politics has been upended by US President Donald Trump.
After the “At Home” at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening, von der Leyen said: “Europe and India are the world’s largest democracies, committed to working together to shape a new global order. This is why we are here to take our partnership to new heights.”
India and the EU are expected to sign a security and defence partnership on Tuesday covering the maritime and cyber domains, besides counter-terrorism.