Indian FM starts week-long EU trip in new cooperation push

India鈥檚 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (right) meets UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London, UK, on June 7, 2025. (MEA India)
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  • Jaishankar will inaugurate the first edition of the Mediterranean Raisina Dialogue in Marseille
  • India and EU are negotiating a free trade deal, which is expected to be finalized this year

NEW DELHI: India鈥檚 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has embarked on Sunday a week-long trip for talks with the top diplomats of the EU, France and Belgium in a new push for cooperation with Europe, his office said.

Jaishankar is set to meet his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot, and 鈥渨ill be holding a Strategic Dialogue with the EU High Representative and Vice President Ms. Kaja Kallas, and will engage with the senior leadership from the European Commission and the European Parliament,鈥� the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

鈥淭he visit of EAM is expected to further deepen India鈥檚 friendly relations with the European Union, France and Belgium and give renewed momentum to ongoing cooperation in diverse areas.鈥�

The foreign minister will also inaugurate the first edition of the Mediterranean Raisina Dialogue in Marseille.

The Raisina Dialogue is a premier multilateral conference on geopolitics and geo-economics held annually in New Delhi and organized by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.

The dialogue in Marseille 鈥渋s a new initiative involving both government and non-government officials from both from India and various parts of the world to converge and talk about issues pertaining to the Mediterranean,鈥� Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation, told Arab News.

During EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen鈥檚 New Delhi visit in February, India and the EU committed to conclude negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement in December.

During last week鈥檚 talks in Paris, nearly half the agenda 鈥� covering areas like customs, trade facilitation, rules of origin, and intellectual property 鈥� has been agreed on.

鈥淭he partnership between India and France, and India and the EU continues to evolve dramatically,鈥� Pant said, adding that Jaishankar鈥檚 trip is also about conveying 鈥渉ow India feels about the changing strategic realities, as well as what has happened with Pakistan.鈥�

Last month, India and Pakistan engaged days-long cross-border fire. Indian forces launched a series of strikes across the Line of Control 鈥� the de facto border that separates the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled parts of the disputed Kashmir territory. They also hit other sites on the Pakistani mainland, targeting what New Delhi claimed were militant positions.

Pakistan retaliated with strikes on Indian military targets before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on May 10. According to the Pakistani military, its forces had downed six Indian warplanes, including several French aircraft Rafale and a Mirage 2000.

The escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors took place as India blamed Pakistan for a deadly militant attack, in which 26 tourists were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir 鈥� Islamabad denied any involvement.