Bharat and the European Union have inked an agreement on semiconductors
that covers cooperation in areas such as research and innovation, talent
development, partnerships and exchange of market information, said the External
Affairs Ministry on Friday.
The deal was signed ahead of the IndiaEU Trade and Technology Council
that was held in the virtual format on Friday.
The Trade and Technology Council meeting was co-chaired on the Indian
side by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and
Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology
Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Vice-President Vera
Jourova chaired the meeting from the European side.
The Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
during the latter’s visit to India in April 2022.
The inaugural ministerial meeting of TTC was held in Brussels on May 16,
where all three working groups under TTC set out their cooperation on a wide
range of issues including semiconductors, high-performance computing, digital
public infrastructures, clean energy technologies, supply chain resilience and
trade issues.
During the virtual meeting, the co-chairs reviewed the progress achieved
in the working groups since the first ministerial meeting and also discussed
the future action plans of these working groups, said the MEA.
The co-chairs provided strategic guidance to the Working Groups on
strategic technologies and digital connectivity, clean and green energy
technologies, and trade, investment and resilient supply chains towards
achieving the objectives set out for TTC during its establishment at the
highest levels, the MEA said.
They expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in the working
groups to date, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, high-performance
computing, digital public infrastructures, EV batteries and their recycling,
waste to energy, resilient supply chains and FDI screening, it said.
The cochairs stressed on taking the collaboration through research and
innovation to the next phase of implementation in terms of practical
outcomes/projects, through more intensive stakeholder consultations before the
next TTC meeting and IndiaEU Summit.
The deal on semiconductors was signed by Ashwini Vaishnaw and Thierry
Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Markets.
As per the statement, “The MoU aims at increasing resilience of
semiconductors value chain in India and EU and covers cooperation in wide areas
covering research and innovation, talent development, partnerships and exchange
of market information.”
The MoU symbolises the strong commitment between India and the EU to work
towards building robust semiconductor supply chains and work together on
innovation, it said.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “Co-chaired the India-EU Trade and
Technology Council virtually along with my colleagues Piyush Goyal and Ashwini
Vaishnaw. Thank our EU counterparts V Dombrovskis and Vera Jourova for their
partnership.
Noted the progress since our first meeting in May 2023 in digital and
strategic technologies; clean energy and green technologies; and trade and
investment and resilient value chains. Committed to promoting more engagements,
bringing in practical initiatives and ensuring economic security,” Jaishankar
said.
PTI
