EU leadership's visit to India next week will enhance ties: MEA

New Delhi: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's visit to India next week will pave the way for further strengthening growing convergence in key areas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

Leyen, accompanied by the high-powered European Union College of Commissioners, will pay a visit to India on February 27 and 28 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will be the first ever visit of the EU College of Commissioners together to India.

Prime Minister Modi will hold delegation-level talks with Leyen, the MEA said in a statement.

The second ministerial meeting of the India - EU Trade and Technology Council (TEC) and bilateral ministerial meetings between the European Commissioners and their Indian counterparts will also be held, it said.

It will be Leyen's third visit to India. She had earlier visited India for a bilateral trip in April 2022, and to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in September 2023.

"This will be the first ever visit of the EU College of Commissioners together to India and among the first such visits since the start of the mandate of the current European Commission in December 2024 after the European parliamentary elections held in June 2024," the MEA said.

India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004, and their bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas.

"As the two sides enter the third decade of the strategic partnership, the visit of President von der Leyen and the EU College of Commissioners will pave the way for further strengthening of bilateral relations based on growing convergences," the MEA said.