India, EU announce three Working Groups under India-EU Trade and Technology Council

India and the EU on Monday announced the establishment of three Working Groups under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and their Terms of Reference.

The TTC is a strategic coordination mechanism that will allow both partners to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, and thus deepen cooperation in these fields between India and the EU, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The TTC with India is only the second such Council for the EU and the first such mechanism for India, the MEA added.

The council was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the latter’s visit to India in April 2022.

The three Working Groups that have been established under the TTC are:

1. Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity: Chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

2. Working Group on Green & Clean Energy Technologies: Chaired by Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

3. Working Group on Trade, Investment & Resilient Value Chains: Chaired by Secretary, Department of Commerce.

The TTC will be co-chaired on the Indian side by the Ministers for External Affairs; Commerce & Industry; and Communications, Electronics & Information Technology.

It will be co-chaired on the EU side by the Executive Vice-Presidents (EVP) of the European Commission in charge of digital technology and trade.

According to a Joint Statement, the Working Groups will now start preparing for the first meeting of the TTC, which will take place before the next India-EU Summit.