Kaja Kallas meets Jaishankar, bats for stronger EU-India partnership

Published on Authored by C to I News Desk

The European Union has said it wants to build a deeper partnership with India, stressing the importance of working together to protect multilateralism and global rules. EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas met India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday, September 22, along with Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira Juan and Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Ramon de la Fuente, during an interaction with EU foreign ministers.

Jaishankar, Kaja Kallas
S Jaishankar (2nd from left) and Kaja Kallas (2nd from right) with other EU officials. Photo courtesy: x.com/DrSJaishankar

After the meeting, Kallas wrote on X, “The message to our partners was simple: the EU is a reliable actor. We support multilateralism, free trade and a world grounded in the UN Charter.”

At a news conference, she underlined that ties with Brazil, India and Mexico are important not just for economic reasons, but also for Europe’s efforts to defend a rules-based international order. “Multilateral order is really something that we all need to defend, and the UN Charter is at its core,” she said.

Jaishankar also posted about the discussions, saying, “Pleased to meet EU Foreign Ministers at their informal meeting today.” He described the engagement as “an opportunity to have open exchange of views on multilateralism, India-EU partnership, Ukraine conflict, Gaza, energy and trade.”

Kallas referred to the EU’s “new blueprint to deepen ties with India” unveiled last week. The strategy lays out five pillars: trade, investment, technology and sustainability; defence and security; connectivity and global issues; and coordination on labour mobility.

Earlier on Wednesday, the EU announced a broader strategic agenda aimed at significantly expanding its cooperation with India in areas such as defence, trade and energy. It said that closer ties with India have become increasingly vital in view of changing geopolitical realities and that strengthening this partnership is necessary to boost economic growth and security.