EU Ambassador Ugo Astuto applauds India's G20 presidency as a success story

Ugo Astuto, the European Union's Ambassador to India, has lauded India's recent G20 Summit as a major achievement in global diplomacy.

Astuto commended India's presidency for its ability to "bring together the international community to make the G20 relevant."

Speaking to WION, Astuto highlighted the pivotal issues discussed during the summit, including "climate change, digital transition, and also the pursuit of sustainable development goals, and also women's empowerment."

He emphasised that these topics received the spotlight they deserved on this prestigious international platform.

He expressed confidence that the African Union's involvement would enrich the conversations and decisions made within the G20.

Reflecting on the European Union's role in achieving consensus during the summit, Astuto stated, "We must all work together for the pursuit of sustainable development goals just to make an example."

Regarding his tenure as the EU Ambassador to India, Astuto pointed out key milestones, including the decision to "resume the negotiation for a free trade agreement."

He also noted the establishment of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC), describing these as significant steps towards elevating the EU-India strategic partnership.

Here is the full interview

Sidhant Sibal: Welcome to WION and I know that this is perhaps your last interview before you leave the country with fond memories. If you can sum up your ambassadorship here in New Delhi.

Ugo Astuto:Thank you. Yes, I think I've been privileged to serve India in this period where we have seen this progress in our strategic partnership. Let me recall some landmark moments. Let me start with the summit in 2021. The decision was taken to resume the negotiation for a free trade agreement.

So it was a very particular summit because we had all member states, together with the Prime Minister.

And I think it was very clear evidence of the sheer determination to bring this relationship to a new level.And then we had the visit of the President of the European Commission in 2022.

And the announcement of the creation of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which finally met for the first edition not so long ago, in Brussels. Here now I ended on a happy note with a visit of both Presidents for the G20 summit and they also had the possibility to meet bilaterally with Prime Minister Modi and reiterate our intention to progress in practically all dimensions of our relationship.

Sidhant Sibal:But essentially, as you pointed out to TTC, if you can, perhaps talk about how it came about and what is the future like in terms of this platform being an area of engagement between the Indian and the European ministers.

Ugo Astuto:Yes, well, I'm sure you're aware, we already have another instance of trade and Technology Council with the United States. And this gives you already a flavour of how important it is for us, this sort of format. It's a format that brings together three ministers from the Indian side and two or more vice presidents depending on the topics discussed. On the agenda, you have issues which are crucial, which are about the nexus between trade and technology, and I'm told that the conversation in Brussels was extremely thorough, and it made evident how convergent we are on a number of topics. Let's say the resilience of supply chains for instance, or the need to foster green technology. So these are the sorts of topics that we shall see also in the next in the next meeting of the TTC which is bound to happen.

Sidhant Sibal:So can you give us any update of the free trade agreement negotiations, we saw the trade commissioner was here in Delhi. He briefed on that in that extensive press conference. But for our viewers, if you can give us an overview of where the talks have progressed.

Ugo Astuto:Yes, well, we have had five rounds of talks and we note progress. There will be another round in Brussels around the month of October. We saw the trade commissioner, Vice President's visit to India, it was to Jaipur for the G20 and then we had a high-level dialogue with minister (Piyush) Goyal.

And what struck me in these interactions was not just the friendly atmosphere, but also the determination shown by both sides to progress. India as the fifth largest economy is on its way to becoming the third largest.

The EU is the largest trade bloc globally. I think a free trade agreement would be a big price for both.

Sidhant Sibal: There must be some challenges as well, perhaps if you want to talk about that as well. Something that you think that you missed or you would like to see it happening as well.

Ugo Astuto:Look, I think the major challenge for me, as well as my predecessor or successor, is to translate this strategic partnership into operational deliverables. I think we have started to do so but the potential is still considerable.

Sidhant Sibal:How does the EU see India in today's world? I know there has been engagement, you pointed to TTC, but in terms of all the other countries in the region, you have China, Africa, and with the US you have a special relationship. In relative terms how important India is for the EU?

Ugo Astuto:I think we see this relationship grow by the day and it's natural because we have shared values. We are both democratic countries, open societies, and we have converging interests, for instance, in upholding the UN Charter and making sure that the rules-based world order remains underpinned by international law.

And then based on shared values and converging interests, we can together address global challenges, which are becoming more crucial by the day. I'm referring to climate change. I think both India and the European Union start from the same proposition that we need to act fast and act now. And that's why we have now a pretty good and extensive conversation on how to do so. How to look for instance at the greener energy mix. In the digital transition, we want to promote innovation.

We want to foster competition, but also we also want to protect the individual rights and freedoms of our citizens. So we need to look closely at data protection for instance. And that's another topic where the EU and India can mutually benefit by exchanging experiences. These are just a few examples, there can be many others, in security, in defence, in academic cooperation.

And in general terms, I think in scientific endeavours, India and the EU can learn a lot from each other. Most recently we have seen a great success of the Indian Space Scientists, and it was good to see that actually there was cooperation with the European Space Agency also supporting this major endeavour.

Sidhant Sibal: In your tenure, you saw conflict in Europe. Your assessment...

Ugo Astuto:I think I respect the Indian position, we understand its constraints. We see in Europe, unfortunately, an instance of a major violation of the UN Charter. Totally unjustified aggression against the peaceful neighbour.It's important that the international community comes together, condemns the aggression and takes action to stop it. The Russians must withdraw the troops and get back to the internationally recognised borders.

But I think what the Prime Minister says is not the time for war is evidence of the fact that India can play a very positive role.

Sidhant Sibal:So now coming to G20. How do you see the Indian presidency of the G20? The summit just got over the weekend. And we saw that consensus as well.

Ugo Astuto:I think it has been a great success for the Indian new presidency to bring together the international community to make the G20 relevant.If you look at the discussions held you see some of the topics we have already mentioned: climate change, digital transition, and also the pursuit of sustainable development goals, and also women's empowerment, getting the spotlight in this major international platform. So I definitely think that India deserves to be commended, but let me mention specifically the inclusion of the African Union in G20.I think a major positive development and the African Union will bring added value to the conversation.

Sidhant Sibal: Role EU Played in Joint Statement. So if you can talk about the EU's role in making sure that joint statement came.

Ugo Astuto:I think we have tried to help the Indian Presidency in reaching consensus.The topics were very relevant for the international community.We must all work together for the pursuit of sustainable development goals just to make an example. So I think we did our best to support the Indian presidency in circumstances far from easy, in a very difficult international setting.

Sidhant Sibal: But about the joint statement, Delhi joint statement versus the Bali joint statement, these paras never condemned Russia, something perhaps you would have liked to see but essentially do you see a step back by the European Union, by the Western world on the issue?

Ugo Astuto:I think we need to look at this statement and the statement contains very important facts and principles. So there is a clear call for respect of the UN Charter, respect for territorial integrity and the sovereignty of states as there is the threat of the use of nuclear weapons, it is termed as unacceptable. Clear ask to resume as soon as possible, the Black Sea grain initiative, there is a call for just and durable peace. So I think these are all very important principles.

Sidhant Sibal: We also saw a tweet by the Ukrainian government spokesperson saying that the 20 statements are nothing to be proud of. Do you agree with this statement?

Ugo Astuto:Look, our support for Ukraine is staunch and remains so and we have tried to support Ukraine from the very beginning and we will continue to do so. So nothing has changed when it comes to our strong support for Ukraine. The fight forUkraine,for freedom, for independence, for democracy is also our fight.

Sidhant Sibal: Over the weekend we did the mega connectivity project, the project that connects India to the Middle East to Europe.How do you see this connectivity project as a game changer when it comes to the region?

Ugo Astuto:I think it's a very important development.Yes, it's about building connectivity bridges, which are underpinned by transparency, principles of inclusivity and sustainability, social sustainability, fiscal sustainability.The European Union has already in place a major policy initiative in this respect, you're familiar with that Global Gateway, so we have set aside 300 billion euros for the year 2021- 2027, precisely for them, to build sustainable infrastructure. And I think this new initiative that brings India with the Middle East with the US, will fit perfectly to that framework. So it is a very momentous decision and a very, very significant development.

Sidhant Sibal: But so any details as to how this project will come up, as of now we have seen the vision statement, fact sheet by the White House but essentially how things will go about in terms of who will put in the money, which port will be used, which railroads will be used? Are we going to build new rail railroads, if you can shed some light on the details?

Ugo Astuto: The work is starting now, all the parties will come together and see what priorities to define. But from our side again, if you look at Global Gateway, you get the general flavor, and idea of what we can do when it comes to the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor.

Sidhant Sibal: Has this corridor been seen as a counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative?

Ugo Astuto:I think this project deserves to be seen on its own merit.The principles are publicly negotiated and I think it's a positive agenda. So I would look at it as its own feature,It's not directed against anyone. It's a positive project that brings together a number of partners who are convinced that we need to work for infrastructure which is sustainable, and which needs to be developed in a transparent and inclusive fashion.

Sidhant Sibal: My last question and perhaps your last public word as well, as you demit office.Future of India and the EU in today's world. If you can give your answer to this, I know it's a generic question but I want this because this will be the word that history will perhaps remember

Ugo Astuto:Thank you. I definitely in my humble opinion that we have ample scope for progressing further. We have made great strides and I think the potential is huge. And I'm pretty sure that we'll see in the years to come the strategic partnership going from strength to strength.

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