New Delhi and Brussels have agreed to move forward with a new security and defense partnership, Kaja Kallas has said

India is becoming "indispensable" for European economic resilience, the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has said.

Kallas made the remarks ahead of a visit to India by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa for a summit on January 27.

The EU and India aim to conclude a trade deal during the visit, Kallas said in an address to the European Parliament on Wednesday.

"The EU is already one of India's largest trading partners, and India is becoming indispensable to Europe's economic resilience," Kallas said on Wednesday.

She called the upcoming summit "a pivotal moment in the bilateral relationship," adding that a new trade deal would "open markets, remove barriers, and strengthen critical supply chains in clean technologies, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors."

The diplomat also said the EU and India have agreed to move forward with a new "security and defense partnership in areas like maritime security, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism."

Kallas added that the sides aim to conclude a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the movement of seasonal workers, students, researchers, and highly skilled professionals, and that talks on a security of information pact are also being launched.

"The EU-India Trade and Technology Council is shaping cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure," she said.

The strategic goal of the India-EU partnership is "to embed trusted partnerships that shape global markets, rather than react to them," Kallas stated.

Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said atrade dealbetween India and the EU was essential to unlock the potential of economic ties between the two sides.

India is among the EU's top tentrading partners, accounting for trade in goods worth $140 billion in 2024.

New Delhi is seeking to diversify from its largest trading partner and export market, the US, which has slapped a 50% tariff on the South Asian nation - half of which was a punitive levy for India's purchases of Russian oil.

India signed three free-trade pacts last year and is in negotiations with a dozen countries or trade blocs, including the US.

(RT.com)