EU, India to hold summit in November

Czech: European Union and Indian leaders have agreed to hold a summit on November 6 in New Delhi, senior officials said at a ministerial-level meeting on Monday.

"The holding of annual summits between India and the EU reflects the importance of their relationship," Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna told reporters in Prague.

The 27-nation EU and India, which signed a strategic partnership in 2004, are negotiating a free trade agreement.

The EU wants to tighten its links to the emerging Asian power, which is seen as a beacon of stability in a region shaken by strife in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The ministerial meeting was held in Prague just two days before the end of the Czech Republic's six-month term in the rotating EU presidency.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said Indian and EU officials discussed terrorism and climate change during the meeting.

"We have a lot of global issues that we confront together," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

"We have in India also a very strong partner in the G20," she said, referring to the Group of 20 developed and developing nations.

The previous EU-India summit took place in September 2008 in the southern French city of Marseille.

Prague, Tuesday, AFP