In a major victory for India, the European Union (EU) on Saturday (8 May) announced a comprehensive Connectivity Partnership to support resilient and sustainable connectivity projects in India, to counter the imperialistic ambition of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The EU also has plans for a comprehensive Connectivity Partnership with other nations and regions like Africa, Central Asia, and the Indo-Pacific reports Economic Times.
This will be part of the implementation of the partnership alignment with the EU-India 2025 Roadmap.
This could not have come at a better time when India is dealing with the Wuhan virus. This connectivity partnership will give India its very first such connectivity initiative with any foreign partner covering three geographical zones.
What is even more important is that it gives smaller and economically weaker nations an alternative to the BRI that has pushed several nations into debt traps.
India-EU partnership covers digital, energy, transport, and people-to-people sectors and will allow the pooling of resources, norms, and several expertise to serve the needs of the next generation of sustainable and quality infrastructure.
The partnership is a significant game-changer for the private sectors from both sides.
The document on the partnership read, “In order to facilitate large-scale private investments in sustainable connectivity, the two sides express their commitment to implementing relevant international standards, to ensure a level playing field for companies and to ensure reciprocal access to markets.”
In September 2019, the EU had signed a similar partnership with Japan.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.