PM MODI MOURNS INDIAN KILLED IN BRUSSELS BLASTS

BRUSSELS: Rag havendr an Ganeshan, the IT professional who died in a blast at Maalbeek metro station on March 22, was at the top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda for most of the day on Wednesday before going into the EU-India summit.

Focus sing on terrorism during bilateral talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel, Modi noted that a “precious” Indian life had been lost in the attacks in Brussels on March 22. He laid a wreath at the metro station and stood in silence for a minute in Ganeshan’s memory.

Modi told Michel: “The scourge of terrorism is increasing. It is important for all nations to fight this menace. India has been battling it for 40 years; having experienced terrorist violence ourselves on countless occasions, we share your pain.”

BRUSSELS: India and Belgium on Wednesday pitched for resumption of the long-stalled negotiations on the proposed India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) on “mutually agreed terms” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Charles Michel resolved to strengthen their bilateral ties.

During their meeting here on Wednesday, both leaders committed to strengthen the economic engagement by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and expanding investment ties.

“They agreed on the need to tap into the full potential of the EU-India strategic partner- ship and looked forward to the resumption of negotiations on the India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) on mutually-agreed terms,” a joint statement issued after meeting of the two leaders said. “They committed to further strengthening the economic engagement by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and expanding investment ties,” the statement said. PM MEETS EU LEADERS The Prime Minister met top European Union leaders at the 13th EU-India Summit to set out concrete priority actions for the strategic partnership in areas like trade and investment, climate, energy, water and migration in the next five years.

“Getting down to the nuts & bolts of diplomacy. 13th #IndiaEU Summit begins with a restricted meeting,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The summit was followed by a working dinner which was attended by European Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker. Presidents of European Parliament Martin Schulz & Investment Bank Werner Hoyer also joined the PM.

After the talks, the two sides witnessed signing of a loan agreement for Lucknow Metro with European Investment Bank. The two sides are expected to adopt declarations on a water partnership and an energy and climate partnership.

They committed to further strengthening the economic engagement by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and expanding investment ties.

THE JOINT STATEMENT