EU-India summit highlights Europe's engagement of key emerging markets

THE EU is preparing to host India on Saturday for a summit to discuss a landmark new trade and investment deal. Yet New Delhi is only one of several key emerging markets now in the sights of Brussels with its goal of making Europe stronger in the world.

Also on the European radar are other key developing giants, from China and Africa. However, it is India that is the immediate focus ahead of the bilateral summit.

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa asserts the summit is the foreign policy "jewel in the crown" of his nation's 2021 presidency of the EU. He wants to rejuvenate talks between Brussels and New Delhi on negotiations for the planned trade and investment agreement, plus enhancing cooperation in connectivity from energy to digital and transportation. One concrete manifestation of these connectivity ambitions are proposals for New Delhi and Brussels to co-build infrastructure projects globally to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative. On the wider connectivity agenda, there are growing signals too that Europe and India will work more closely together to establish open, transparent standards for 5G.