New Delhi: Energy security will be among key areas of discussions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day visit to Germany, Denmark and France, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Sunday.
Modi begins his visit to the three countries on Monday.
At a media briefing, Kwatra said the overall focus of the talks will be to broaden the bilateral engagement, but noted that the situation in Ukraine is set to come up in his talks.
The foreign secretary said energy security has assumed greater significance in the backdrop of the current geopolitical developments and the issue will figure in Modi's talks with European leaders.
About the conflict in Ukraine, Kwatra said India always maintained that there should be cessation of hostilities in that country and the crisis should be resolved through dialogue.
In 2016, the EU and India established the "European Union - India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership" (CECP). The partnership promotes access to and dissemination of clean energy and climate friendly technologies and encourages research and the development of innovative solutions. It guides the energy and climate policy dialogue between the EU and India and helps supporting joint projects and joint research.
Current areas of collaboration include activities in offshore wind energy, roof top solar and solar parks, integration of renewable energy and storage, smart grids, biofuels and energy efficiency in buildings.
An energy panel meets annually at senior officials' level. Working groups on various energy sectors are active, including on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy security. In addition, energy cooperation is taking place through conferences, study tours, exchanges, business meetings, joint research and many other activities in a broad range of energy sectors.
On Tuesday, amidst India’s efforts to deflect criticism over buying oil from Russia by pointing fingers at Europe, European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen underlined the regional bloc’s increasing investment in renewable energy as a fallout of the Ukrainian war and asserted that cooperation in this field with the South Asian country would be “critical” to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
On her two-day visit, the former German foreign minister, who was elected as EU president in 2019, highlighted Europe’s turn towards green energy as a strategic move in the backdrop of the conflict in the continent.
In line with the green theme, her only two side appointments in New Delhi were to visit the headquarters of the International Solar Alliance and the campus of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a sustainable development think-tank.
According to the official press note, Von der Leyen told Modi that Europe would “diversify away from fossil fuels and invest heavily in clean renewable energy”. For this, “cooperation with India not only on solar but also on green hydrogen is critical,” she stated as per the public remarks released by the EU.
During her meeting with the Indian PM, it is learnt that she explicitly framed Europe’s strategic decision to move towards renewable energy as a consequence of Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine. In essence, she argued that India should cooperate with Europe in green energy to reduce dependence on Russian crude.
After the Russian military rolled through Ukraine’s border on February 24, the United States banned imports of Russian oil. However, European countries, which import 27% of their oil demand from Russia, have yet to impose any such ban, as it would adversely impact their economies.
(with inputs from PTI)
