In an interview early March, JNU Professor and expert on India-EU relations, R K Jain stated that what made the India-EU Strategic Partnership special is the fact that it was a "long-term cooperative framework where meaningful dialogue will bring concrete deliverables on areas where there is commonality". Such a definition implies two things - first, the Partnership has to be understood as a process of mutual engagement where multi-sectoral interest in a wide range of trust areas are identified in order to produce common beneficial outcomes through a proliferation of concrete policy outputs; and second, some areas will bring more constructive and specific results than others. Consequently, as is to be expected, not the entire range of cooperative fields will be as slow, vague and uncertain as the political and hard security-related ones.

It is not a surprise that trade and investment remains the top priority for both parties and the policy-area where commonality is more likely to bring concrete cooperation deliverables. The visit to India of the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms. Fischer Boel, from 6-11 March 2007 is certainly a sign of the healthy trade relations between the two economic powers. In fact, the figures speak for themselves - since the first EU-India Summit held in 2000 in Lisbon, trade between both partners has increased from €25.6 billion to around €40 billion in 2005. The European Union remains India's largest trading partner, accounting for 22.34% of India's total exports and 16% of India's total imports in the year 2005-06.

While it is true that Agriculture remains one of the conflict areas in the dialogue between the EU and India - Prof Jain outlined that the main obstacle at the WTO is the parties' extreme positions regarding sanitary standards. The Commissioner's visit will therefore, include discussion on ongoing trade and investment issues between the EU and India in the field of agricultural goods. Commissioner Boel will meet with the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Kamal Nath, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr. Sharad Pawar, and most importantly, she will inaugurate, along with Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Subodh Kant Sahay, the international food fair, Ahaar India, starting in New Delhi on 8 March at which the EU will have a strong presence. Indeed, the EU Commissioner is coming along with a 28-member delegation representing the agricultural and food-processing industries of Europe. Organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) every year, the Aahar India trade fair offers an excellent platform to the industry to showcase the latest developments and innovations in the processed food and hospitality sector, attracting foreign and domestic manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers and reflects the resolve of the Indian government to promote vital sectors of the economy.

Back in November 2001, the second India-EU Summit in New Delhi made the first official open call for business initiatives to enhance trade and investment. Four sectors were considered important to potential investors and traders, namely Food Processing, Engineering, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. Both the ITPO initiative and the significant response of EU industries account for concrete economic initiatives which are driven and endorsed by the EU-India Strategic Partnership.

India is one of the largest agriculture producers in the world but only 5-6 percent of the items are processed. A revolution is taking place in the sector of food processing - the budget of the Indian Government announced on 1 March 2007 foresees a lot of concessions in this sector, according to Prof. Jain. Even though agriculture today accounts for just 22% of Indian GDP as compared to 41% in 1970, agriculture continues to play a fundamental role in the Indian economy and still employs 60% of the working population. Agriculture is thus fundamental to Indian social structure and political stability. While poverty in India is falling as a consequence of its high economic growth, concerns over food security are increasing. According to recent surveys, 44% of households are deficient in calorie intake. In the long term, food security will result from the wider tackling of poverty. This will require improvements in infrastructure and targeted policies within a fixed timeframe to improve rural farm and non-farm productivity.

Consequently, India rightly perceives food processing as a major priority, mainly to boost its agricultural sector in several areas. Industrial interaction with EU agro-food business will renew and create co-production initiatives. The Indian agricultural sector will also benefit from the exchange of expertise and machinery. Consultation on sanitary procedures in order to ensure Indian items met international standards and reaches international markets is also an expected consequence of the partnership in the field of agriculture and food processing technology. The objective, ultimately, is of course to improve Indian agriculture productivity but most importantly, to increase farmers income and reduce the current level of food insecurity in India.