Two busy weeks ahead for MEA as South Block readies hectic calendar

South Block, the headquarters of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has two busy weeks ahead as it prepares to host European Council President  António Luís Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen next Sunday, where negotiations for the India-European Union trade deal are expected to concluded. 

Radoslaw Sikorski, Polish deputy prime minister, who also holds the portfolio of foreign affairs, along with his spouse, journalist and historian Anne Applebaum, will be in India from Monday onwards. 

Poland is India’s largest trading and investment partner in Central & Eastern Europe. Over the period 2013-23, bilateral trade with Poland saw an increase of 192 per cent — from $1.95 billion in 2013 to $5.72 billion in 2023. The balance of trade continues to be largely in favour of India in 2023, according to the MEA. 

New Delhi is also set to host the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday. The two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022. Today, the UAE is India’s third-largest trading partner and second-largest export destination, with India’s exports to the UAE crossing $36.63 billion in FY25. At the same time, India is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, with UAE exports to India valued at over $63.42 billion. The two signed the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in February 2024. Defence and security ties between the two have deepened, and India’s army chief visited the UAE earlier this month. The two sides will discuss the situation in West Asia, especially Iran, and also India’s upcoming BRICS presidency in 2026. 

The MEA is also preparing to host the foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League at the second India-Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on January 30-31, officials said. 

Foreign ministers from countries spanning West Asia and North Africa will attend, and the meeting could have the participation of Syria, which came under a new administration at the end of 2024. 

Meanwhile, India-US negotiations on trade are set to continue, and, according to sources, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to visit the United States (US) next month to attend the second edition of the Pax Silica Summit. 

The US had not included India in the inaugural summit, which took place in January last year. 

Apart from cooperation in critical minerals, the two sides, during Jaishankar’s visit, could also review the progress in the negotiations on the India-US trade deal. 

In a letter on January 16, two US lawmakers urged US President Donald Trump to push for favourable provisions for pulses in any trade deal with India. 

Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said their states were the top two producers of pulses, including peas, while India was the world’s largest consumer, accounting for about 27 per cent of global consumption.

Daines met External Affairs Minister Jaishankar in New Delhi on Sunday morning. "A pleasure meeting Senator Daines this morning in Delhi. A wide ranging and open discussion on our bilateral relationship and its strategic significance," Jaishankar posted on social media platform X. 

Over the past few days, US Ambassador Sergio Gor met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani and Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran.