India-European Union Sign Pact On Semiconductors Ahead Of Key Trade Meet

An India-EU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on semiconductors was signed on Friday, ahead of the Trade and Technology Council meeting in New Delhi, according to the Ministry of External Affairs press release.

The MoU was signed by Minister of Electronics, IT and Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw and the European Commissioner for Internal Markets Thierry Breton.

The MoU aims at increasing the resilience of the semiconductor value chain in India and the EU and covers cooperation in wide areas covering research and innovation, talent development, partnerships and exchange of market information, as per the release.

The MoU symbolizes the strong commitment between India and the EU to work towards building robust semiconductor supply chains and work together on innovation.

Meanwhile, a virtual meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was held in New Delhi on Friday.

The Indian side was led by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry (CIM) Piyush Goyal and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The EU delegation was led by Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Vice-President Vera Jourova.

The 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, 2023, 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, as per the release.

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.

They expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in the working groups till date, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, high-performance computing, digital public infrastructure, EV batteries and its recycling, waste to energy, resilient supply chains and FDI screening.

They also stressed 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 India-EU Summit.

Both sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the TTC in India back-to-back with the India-EU Summit at a mutually convenient date early next year.

EAM Jaishankar wrote on X: "Co-chaired the India-EU Trade & Technology Council (TTC) virtually along with my colleagues @PiyushGoyal & @AshwiniVaishnaw. Thank our EU counterparts @VDombrovskis & @VeraJourova for their partnership."

Co-chaired the India-EU Trade & Technology Council (TTC) virtually along with my colleagues @PiyushGoyal & @AshwiniVaishnaw .

Thank our EU counterparts @VDombrovskis & @VeraJourova for their partnership.

Noted the progress since our first meeting in May 2023 in digital and… pic.twitter.com/XFV2Fq8etN

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 24, 2023

"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," the EAM wrote.

EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin said: "The #EU- #India MoU on Semiconductors signed !! Paving the way for closer cooperation in this strategic sector. An important deliverable of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council #TTC."

Meanwhile, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday discussed progress in India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations with European Commission's Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.

"Discussed progress of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations with my friend @VDombrovskis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission," the Union Commerce Minister wrote on 'X'.

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