6 Nov : India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) have signed an agreement for cooperation in the field of Fusion Energy Research and agreed over the free trade treaty by next year to boost trade and investment.
Addressing the Summit organised at Hyderabad House in the capital, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said that the agreement underlines the growing importance of energy security and clean energy in our co-operation.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and European Commission President Jose Manuel Borosso were also present at the summit.
The agreement aims at intensifying cooperation to develop scientific understanding and technological capability underlying a fusion energy system.
Dr Singh also expressed hope that negotiations on broad based trade and investment agreement with EU will be concluded in a year.
Replying to a question, the Prime Minister said India is intimately affected by the internal developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Dr Singh added that India has a stake in peace and stability in both the countries. He also said that there has been no input from Pakistan on David Coleman Headley.
Stressing that the Climate Change is a global challenge, Dr Singh mentioned that India has a progressive and ambitious plan to tackle global warming. Besides this, a broad spectrum of bilateral and global issues including the global financial crisis, energy, security and trade were also discussed during the summit.
Fight against terrorism
The two sides also decided to conclude an agreement between EUROPOL and Indian security agencies to combat global terrorism.
A Joint Statement issued after the Summit said the EU strongly condemned the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and reiterated the need for intensifying global cooperation in combating international terrorism.
The two sides emphasised the utmost importance of bringing the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice and acknowledged the contribution this would make to the success of the global fight against terrorism.