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A promising engagement

The European Union (EU) India eighth annual summit held in New Delhi recently was, unlike some of the earlier high level meetings, a sedate affair, devoted in the main to a re-affirmation of the common foundations of pluralism, democracy, respect for human rights, and multilateralism. Noticeable was the absence of the high profile character of the previous summit, where it was decided to launch negotiations on the landmark trade and investment agreement. There was, howeve r, a cautious note of optimism that the deal could be clinched by the end of 2008. There is evidence to suggest that the two sides attach enormous importance to achieving progress on substantive issues in a prospective pact. The EU, for instance, would like to see firm commitments on behind-the-border issues such as simplification of regulatory procedures, intellectual property protection, and public procurement in addition to major offers from India on import tariff reductions. For its part, India would like foreign direct investment from the EU to be stepped up and tangible progress made in facilitating the movement of natural persons.

This year, the EU commemorates the golden jubilee of its historic founding in the aftermath of World War II, and India, its six decades of freedom from colonial rule. Both can take legitimate pride in steering the destinies of millions — characterised by diversities of language, ethnicity and religion — in a relative atmosphere of peace, unity, and stability under a common framework of democratic rule of law. The EU has ushered in an irrevocable barriers-free trading regime across 27 states and is preparing to expand the Eurozone that adopts the single currency. India has, with stunning regularity, consigned to oblivion all predictions of doom about the future of a country ravaged by partition riots at the dawn of freedom and one that is steeped in primordial cleavages, mass poverty, and deprivation. The imperative for the two of the biggest democratic forces in today’s so-called unipolar world is to work towards an equitable and truly democratic international order, reining in the United States superpower ambitions under the guise of the global war on terror, by a constructive engagement with other powers including the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.

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