New Delhi: In a significant diplomatic gesture underscoring the growing strategic and economic convergence between India and the European Union, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will be the chief guests at India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26. The visit will coincide with the India-EU Summit on January 27, where both sides are expected to push toward concluding a long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) that has entered the final stages of negotiation.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the European Union formally confirmed the participation of the two EU leaders on Thursday, following public acknowledgements by several European leaders earlier this week. Their presence at the 77th Republic Day parade marks a rare honour and highlights the elevated status of the India-EU partnership at a time of shifting global economic and geopolitical alignments.

This will be only the second occasion on which India has invited leaders of a regional grouping, rather than a single country, to be chief guests at its Republic Day celebrations. The first such instance was in 2018, when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attended the event to commemorate 25 years of India-ASEAN relations. According to the EU, this will also be the first time that the bloc’s top leadership has attended India’s Republic Day parade as guests of honour, a move it described as “signalling the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the EU and India”.

At the centre of the visit is the India-EU Summit, where negotiators are working toward unveiling a comprehensive free trade agreement. Officials on both sides have indicated that talks are in the “last mile”, though some politically and economically sensitive issues remain unresolved. Negotiations for the FTA were relaunched in 2022 after a gap of nearly a decade, reflecting renewed urgency driven by global supply chain disruptions, economic uncertainty, and changing trade dynamics.

Besides the trade pact, the summit is expected to see progress on a Security and Defence Partnership and a security of information agreement. These frameworks are aimed at deepening defence industry collaboration, enhancing maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, addressing hybrid and cyber threats, and ensuring the security of critical undersea infrastructure such as data cables. Together, these initiatives point to an expanding conception of India-EU ties that goes beyond trade to encompass shared security and strategic interests.

During their visit, Costa and von der Leyen will hold detailed talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and meet President Droupadi Murmu. An India-EU Business Forum will also be organised on the margins of the summit, providing a platform for industry leaders from both sides to explore investment opportunities, supply chain partnerships, and technology collaboration.

In a joint statement, India and the EU said the participation of the two European leaders in the Republic Day celebrations and the summit would further deepen the strategic partnership and advance cooperation in priority areas such as trade, security and defence, clean energy transition, and people-to-people ties.

“India is a crucial partner for the EU,” Costa said in a statement ahead of the visit. “Together, we share the capacity and responsibility to protect the rules-based international order. This meeting will be a key opportunity to build on our partnership and drive progress in our cooperation.”

The timing of the visit is significant. Disruptions and geo-economic churn triggered by the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration in the United States have added urgency to the EU’s efforts to diversify its economic partnerships. Brussels is keen to reduce its dependence on both the US and China, while securing greater access to India’s vast and growing market. For India, closer economic integration with the EU offers opportunities to attract investment, boost exports, and strengthen its role in global value chains.

Trade figures underscore the importance of the relationship. India is currently the EU’s ninth-largest trading partner, accounting for about 2.2% of the bloc’s trade in goods in 2023. Conversely, the EU is India’s largest trading partner, with goods trade valued at €124 billion in 2023. Two-way trade in services stood at €59.7 billion in the same year, reflecting growing exchanges in sectors such as information technology, financial services, and professional services.

Alongside the FTA, India and the EU launched negotiations in 2022 for a bilateral investment agreement and a pact on geographical indications (GIs). However, people familiar with the discussions said these agreements are unlikely to be concluded during the upcoming summit, given the complexity of the issues involved.

India and the EU have been strategic partners since 2004, but momentum in the relationship has accelerated in recent years. The last bilateral summit was held virtually in July 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ties received a further boost following the visit of the EU College of Commissioners, led by von der Leyen, to India in February last year. During that visit, Prime Minister Modi and von der Leyen set an ambitious target of concluding the FTA by the end of 2025.

Despite notable progress, some contentious issues continue to pose challenges in the trade talks. These include market access for steel and automobiles, as well as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a levy on imports of carbon-intensive goods. India has criticised CBAM as a non-tariff barrier that could hurt its exports, while the EU argues that it is necessary to meet climate objectives and ensure a level playing field.

In October 2025, the Council of the EU endorsed a new EU-India strategic agenda aimed at further deepening ties. The agenda identifies five key areas of shared interest: security and defence; prosperity and sustainability; technology and innovation; connectivity; and global issues. This framework reflects a broader alignment of priorities, particularly in the context of a rapidly evolving international order.

The EU is also keen to work closely with India, which currently chairs the Brics grouping, and France, the chair of the G7, to play a more active role in shaping global governance. With the United States perceived as stepping back from its traditional leadership role on some international issues, European policymakers see partnerships with countries like India as essential to maintaining a rules-based global system.

The presence of von der Leyen and Costa at India’s Republic Day parade, therefore, is not merely ceremonial. It symbolises a maturing partnership that is increasingly strategic in nature, driven by shared economic interests, converging security concerns, and a common commitment to multilateralism. As India and the EU seek to finalise a landmark trade deal and expand cooperation across multiple domains, the visit is expected to mark a pivotal moment in the trajectory of their bilateral relationship.