EU wants close ties with India's IT sector

"The EU and India enjoy a strong and deepening relationship. I am constantly amazed by India's innovators and I want to salute the ambition of India's ICT policies," Kroes said.

"Projects like the Unique Identification Number database are a true inspiration. I want to make sure our respective sectors are as open to new forms of growth and partnership as possible," EuAsiaNews quoted Kroes as saying in a statement Tuesday ahead of her visit.

She said she will meet India's IT and commerce ministers, in addition to regulators and representatives of companies such as Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks which have multi-billion euro stakes in the Indian ICT sector.

Her visit to India comes as crucial Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations take place ahead of the next EU-India summit in February 2012.

An ambitious FTA would deliver over four billion euros in benefits to the EU, including in the ICT and ICT-enabled sectors critical for economic growth, the statement noted.