India proposes wide-ranging partnership with EU
Monday, 10 January 2005, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: The Indian proposals are in response to those the EU had suggested when it proposed a bilateral strategic partnership that was endorsed by the India-EU summit held in The Hague in November. "It (Indian proposals) is not only about symbolism, it is also about content," Luxembourg's Ambassador Paul Steinmetz told a press conference held here Monday to mark his country taking over the rotating presidency of the 25-member EU from Holland from Jan 1. Steinmetz said India had acquired a higher profile in global affairs and noted that it was one of the four countries that figured in the core group announced by US President George Bush to coordinate relief in the aftermath of the Dec 26 tsunami. He regretted that though the EU had announced assistance of 1.2 billion euros for relief in the tsunami-ravaged states, it had not received publicity in the Indian media. Steinmetz said the EU was keen to change its image in military matters as a "soft power" to a "hard power" and had set up a contingent of 20,000 troops for deployment in "any crisis situation". These troops will be used as a rapid intervention force for "civil protection overseas" to deal with situations like natural disasters, terrorism and peacemaking, he said but underscored that everything would be done only after obtaining the UN mandate. Asked about bilateral consultations on monetary matters, Francisco da Camara Gomes, head of delegation of the European Commission in India, said these were aimed at ensuring there was no sudden fluctuation in the monetary market that could affect the stability of currencies. The next India-EU summit will be held in New Delhi in the last quarter of this year and it will frame a joint action plan identifying various areas of cooperation.
Source: IANS
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