EU releases strategy paper for stepping up ties with India

The European Union Wednesday unveiled a 'strategy paper' outlining the broad roadmap for stepping up cooperation with India in a range of key sectors, including trade, investment, defence and security, innovation, and on dealing with various global challenges.

Releasing the paper, European Union's Ambassador to India Tomasz Kozlowski said the two sides are also going to have military cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

He said India and the EU are significantly deepening their counter-cooperation to effectively deal with the challenge of terrorism in the region.

"India is on the top of the agenda of the EU in the field of external relations," Kozlowski told reporters.

On the stalled negotiations for the India-EU free trade agreement, he said both sides are actively engaged on the issue.

The strategy paper provides a broad overview of the EU's plan to expand ties with India in several key sectors for the next two decades.