She will meet President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Modi and other dignitaries during her visit

President of the European Commission has been invited as the Chief Guest for this year’s edition of Raisina Dialogue and will address the inaugural session on April 25

President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen will be on a two-day official visit to India next week. This will be her first visit to India as the President of the European Commission.

President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen will be on an official visit to India on April 24-25, said a statement of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

During her visit, the President of the European Commission will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry said.

The EU President will also meet the President of India and other dignitaries, the statement said.

The President of the European Commission has been invited as the Chief Guest for this year’s edition of Raisina Dialogue and will address the inaugural session on April 25, it added.

According to the statement, India and the European Union share a vibrant Strategic Partnership which has been witnessing strong growth with wider and deeper co-operation in Political and Strategic, Trade and Commerce, Climate and Sustainability, Digital and Technology aspects as well as people-to-people ties.

The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in May 2021 set new milestones with the decision to resume trade talks and the launch of India-EU Connectivity Partnership, it mentioned.

The forthcoming visit of the President of the European Commission will be an opportunity to review progress and further intensify the multifaceted partnership with the EU, the statement noted.

According to an MEA note titled ‘India-European Union Bilateral Relations’, the relationship between India and the European Union (EU) are based on shared values and principles such as democracy, rule of law, rules based international order and multilateralism.

The ties are multifaceted and cover a broad spectrum of topics including trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, artificial intelligence, connectivity, agriculture and marine, it added.

The 15th India-EU summit was held in virtual mode in July 2020, the MEA note had further stated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented the Indian side while the European Council President Charles Michel and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen represented the EU, it added.

During the summit, the leaders had affirmed their strong interest and full commitment to develop the India-EU strategic partnership to new levels, the MEA note stated.