IRIA News

The European Union has released a new roadmap focusing on increasing cooperation with regional stakeholders of the Indo-Pacific region. The announcement was made at a gathering of foreign ministers of the EU and the Indo-Pacific in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 13, 2023.

Foreign Ministers of the European Union states met with their counterparts from the Indo-Pacific counties, including top diplomats from India, Japan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, to discuss the prospects of the EU’s Global Gateway program, Europe’s answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“Our ambition is to work toward the preservation of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive region and to build partnerships between equals,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said in her remarks during the meeting.

Europe’s willingness for economic and geopolitical integration into the Indo-Pacific regions comes at a time when Beijing is increasing its military and economic influence in the region. During the meeting in Stockholm, EU’s Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell said all his colleagues “agree on the basic lines of this re-calibration of our strategy on China.”

Borrell said that EU foreign ministers have backed a proposal reducing the bloc’s economic dependence on China, but added that they are still figuring out how to implement it. He said that in the first phase of implementation, the EU will pursue 20 Global Gateway projects in the Indo-Pacific “from investment in hydropower, solar energy plants to transportation infrastructure, railways, ports, and airports.”

EU’s Foreign Affairs Chief Borrel and Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom highlighted that the Indo-Pacific region is of strategic importance as it holds the larger part of the earth’s population and economy. “Through its waters passes the major share of world trade. Stability and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific are vital for our prosperity. The fate of climate change and the health of oceans are largely decided there. When fundamental freedoms and openness are threatened, be it in Europe, the Indo-Pacific or elsewhere, the European Union is not indifferent.”

The EU leaders added that “The proposition of the European Union is clear. We are ready to act on a broad palette of cooperation reflecting our extensive and long-term commitment to the Indo-Pacific. The latter is exemplified through our Free Trade Agreements, where we have active negotiations with Australia, India, Indonesia, and Kenya, having relaunched negotiations with Thailand, and expect to sign an agreement with New Zealand soon. We engage in infrastructure, development cooperation, and ocean conservation stretching from the African coast well into the Pacific”.

So far, there has not been any project laid down in the Indo-Pacific region under the Global Gateway initiative. It is expected that Bangladesh would be among the first countries in the Indo-Pacific region to feature a Global Gateway flagship initiative, promoting green energy transition through renewable power generation. However, no clear guidelines about the projects have been made public by either side so far.

India, due to its economic and military friction with China, is Europe’s number one ally in the Indo-Pacific region. While attending the summit in Stockholm, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar agreed that Europe has a stake in Indo-Pacific developments, and added that India will work together with the EU in the coming years.

“Globalization is the overwhelming reality of our times. However, far apart, regions and nations cannot be impervious to significant events elsewhere. Nor can we cherry-pick them to our convenience. The European Union has major stakes in Indo-Pacific developments, especially as they pertain to technology, connectivity, trade, and finance,” Jaishankar said.

The meeting was also attended by China’s close ally, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. She held several meetings with EU officials including Foreign Affairs Chief Borrel and discussed bilateral and regional issues. According to the official release Pakistan and EU officials vowed to continue multifaceted bilateral dialogue on trade and investment, energy, climate change, and health issues.

I had a good exchange with #Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar @HinaRKhar on Pakistan’s current political situation and on #Afghanistan at the EU – Indo-Pacific Forum. pic.twitter.com/pWHX2v4mUa

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 14, 2023

At the end of the meeting, European Union released an updated fact sheet about its Indo-Pacific strategy focusing on the progress achieved through the EU’s revitalized approach towards the region.