India welcomes EU's policy paper on deepening bilateral ties

India on Monday welcomed the release of a policy document by the European Union, outlining the bloc's roadmap to significantly scale up ties between the two sides in a range of areas like trade, investment, defence and security.

The Ministry of External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said India looked forward to engaging with the EU not only on a robust bilateral agenda, but also on regional and global issues of shared concern.

"The report recognises India's consistent economic growth, demographic dynamism and modernisation drive and calls for greater India-EU political, security and defence cooperation," the MEA said.

It further said the EU document refers to India as an emerging global power that plays a key role in the current multi-polar world and a factor of stability in a complex region.

India's engagement with the EU has substantially intensified since the establishment of strategic ties in 2004.

India-EU cooperation now spans over 30 dialogue mechanisms, covering foreign policy and security issues, trade and investment and sustainable development among others.

The strategy paper, released last week, said the EU has an "interest" in strengthening its political, economic and defence cooperation with India as a strong partnership with New Delhi was key for a balanced EU policy towards Asia as a whole.

"India looks forward to engaging with the EU not only on a robust bilateral agenda, but also on regional and global issues of shared concern and for reforming the multilateral system and institutions to better reflect contemporary global realities," the MEA said.