IEUFP-FICCI Delegation visit to Brussels, September 17 - 21, 2007

A multi-party five member India-EU Forum of Parliamentarians' (IEUFP) delegation visited Brussels from September 17 to 21, 2007. The visit was organised by IEUFP and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The delegation led by its Chairman Mr. Dinesh Trivedi (Member, All India Trinamool Congress) comprised of senior Parliamentarians including Dr. K. Kasturirangan (Nominated), Mr. Tariq Anwar (Nationalist Congress Party), Mr. Lakshman Singh (Bharatiya Janata Party), and Ms. Preneet Kaur (Indian National Congress). Mr. Ramesh Chandran, Executive Director, IEUFP, and Advisor, FICCI also accompanied the delegation.

The delegation interacted with Members of European Parliament (MEP), business leaders, senior think-tank analysts and NATO officials.

On September 17, the first day of their visit, the delegates attended a roundtable discussion organised by the American BioIndustry Alliance (ABIA) together with CropLife International on "India's Genetic Resource (GR)/ Traditional Knowledge (TK) Patent Disclosure: Time for a Change of Heart?"

Mrs. Susan K. Finston, Executive Director, ABIA, provided an overview of relevant issues to the parliamentarians on her topic of discussion titled "Scenesetter: Indian Patent Issues relating to Genetic Resource/Traditional Knowledge Inventions".

Dr. Himanshu Vyas, Director, Ayurnet Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., during the roundtable provided a briefing on the "Importance of Development of Ayurvedic Industry of Patent Reform for Genetic Resource Inventions."

He highlighted in his presentation that India had become a top-five global destination for investment in all phases of pharmaceutical development and growth of lower-level biotechnology (e.g. vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, etc.), but lacked an enabling environment and incentives for investment in traditional medicines.

He also stressed that while the Government of India was trying to establish a special pathway to ensure clinical development of traditional medicines, the lack of assured patent rights for these products had scared away investment from this promising field, particularly from foreign direct investment.

Dr. Manisha Desai, Patent Counsel, Eli Lilly, addressed the benefits to India from improving patent protection in her presentation titled "Increasing Legal Certainty: Benefits to Biodiverse India."

Members of the ABIA appreciated the opportunity to meet with and brief the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the EU. Following the discussion, Mr. Christian Verschueren, Director General, CropLife International hosted a luncheon interaction for the delegates. The interaction gave them an opportunity to talk about some vital intellectual property issues affecting the plant science industry.

In the evening the delegates met with Mr. Erich Muller, Director, Europe Aid and held discussions on 'India-EU Development Cooperation'. During this interaction, both sides pledged their commitment to intensifying the dialogue on economic and development cooperation and recognized the greater interaction between their respective business communities in achieving this goal.

Commending the initiation of bilateral working groups that had allowed their experts to cover a range of issues including energy, the Parliamentarians highlighted the need for enhanced bilateral cooperation required in continuing to address topics of mutual interest so as to facilitate and maximize their respective market access needs.

Agreeing that strengthening their development cooperation in order to contribute to India's economic growth and sustainable development the parliamentarians highlighted education, health and environment as vital sectors of cooperation.

Thereafter, the visiting delegation also attended a dinner reception hosted by Mr. Dipak Chatterjee, Indian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union.

The following day the delegation interacted with Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament. They also met with the Members of the European Parliament (MEP).

Later during the day they met with Mr. Martin Schulz, Leader of Socialist Party, followed by a luncheon interaction hosted by Ms. Neena Gill, member of the MEP at the European Parliament.

In the afternoon they interacted with Ms. Benita Ferrero - Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood policy. She said the EU-India relationship was a strong, growing and dynamic relationship based on common values and strong mutual interests. While the EU was India's first trading partner, and its main source of Foreign Direct Investment, she affirmed that the EU was also keen to work with India on the crucial issues of the day, from energy security and climate change to multilateral trade liberalisation, non-proliferation, UN reform, the promotion of human rights and democracy, the fight against terrorism, peace and regional integration in South Asia. She stressed that India was a natural partner for the EU on many of these issues, not least because of their shared commitment to seeking multilateral solutions in a rules based international order.

She also conveyed that India was celebrating 60 years of independence just as the Europeans were marking 50 years of integration between the nation states. The EU, she stressed, believed regional co-operation could help bring stability and prosperity to many parts of the world - and it applauded the very important role that India plays in fostering greater regional co-operation and trade liberalization in South Asia. She also conveyed her optimism regarding the SAARC summit, which India would host in April, conveying that the summit would be a milestone in further co-operation, and the EU looked forward to attending as observers.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner also highlighted the EU´s policy on Energy and Climate Change, and called for a further intensification of EU-India co-operation in this field. Key priorities underlined by her included the development of clean coal technologies, increasing energy efficiency and savings, promoting environment-friendly energy sources as well as assisting India in energy market reforms.

She also discussed the negotiation of a broad-based trade and investment agreement between the EU and India and pressed for progress on the ongoing negotiations of bilateral agreements on maritime transport and civil aviation.

The delegation also participated in a roundtable discussion with UCB Pharma SA followed by dinner hosted by Mr. Hocine Sidi-Said, Vice President, UCB, SA and President Emerging Markets.

Next day on their itinerary was an interaction with 'The Center' a Think Tank focused on Global Public Policy and International Communication. The roundtable 'India Rising - Insiders' Insights for Europe,' was organised by The Center in cooperation with the Indian Mission to the EU. The roundtable was introduced by Paul Adamson, Chairman of The Centre and moderated by Ashutosh Sheshabalaya of IndiaAdvisory, author of Rising Elephant, the widely reviewed bestseller about India's emergence (published in the US, India and Europe).

The roundtable addressed five themes: High-technology for development - India's experiences and lessons for the world beyond; Judicial activism - democracy's meaningful cousin; Gender issues in Indian politics, business and society; Significance of India's new Special Economic Zones: Catch-up with China or imitate its growth-at-any cost model; and Renewable energy in India and its meaning for global environmental challenges.

Later, the delegation held a fruitful interaction with the European Policy Centre (EPC).

In the evening a special event was organised by the Antwerp Indian Organisation.

The following day on September 20 the delegates met with NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo.

The delegates also visited the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and convened a roundtable discussion on "India in the 21st century: Perspectives" and emphasized the need for a stronger collaboration between the European Union and India in several areas. With regard to the field of education, the parliamentarians stressed that it should be strived for so that literacy is obtained for all levels in India, lowest to highest. It was also stressed that better health services and the efficient use of sustainable energies must be achieved, and for achieving these goals a close collaboration with the European Union was vital. The delegates expressed their wish to co-operate with the EU and the whole world to fight the two main problems of India: poverty and terrorism.

In his remarks Mr. Dinesh Trivedi said that the Indian economy was opening up and getting integrated, and that it was no longer a closed up market. But India has two major problems he informed: poverty and terrorism. For fighting these problems worldwide co-operation was needed.

As concerning the need for a new approach on energy resources the Indian parliament members clearly underlined their wish to collaborate closer with the European Union to use increasingly renewable energy sources in India.

The Indian parliamentarians highligted that India sets a good example for its neighbouring countries on how democracy can function. The question: Could the EU model be taken over for India and its neighbouring countries? was raised in the discussion. But before that, the parliamentarians stredded, a predominant condition was that all neighbouring countries of India have a democracy. It was one of the dreams of India to have a common market with a free movement of goods and persons with its neighbouring countries and would make the area strong, they stressed.

When the talk came to terrorism, the Indian parliamentarians stated that, for them, terrorism had nothing to do with a certain religion. Muslims in India were such an integrated part of the Indian population and according to the Indian delegates every one of them was fighting terrorism as much as any non-muslim. Different religions co-existed in India since many generations they informed.

Mr. Trivedi raised the question - How to realise the reinforced exchange of researchers and specialists between India and the EU? Whereupon Michael Emerson mentioned two possibilities to achieve this goal: 1) an increase of academic exchanges, and 2) stronger links between Think Tanks in the EU and in India.

The Indian delegates concluded with the remark that India and the EU had a lot to give to each other. The EU could support India in terms of establishing new technologies for sustainable energy use and an improved health service system, while the Indians could offer highly qualified graduates in the field of technology.

Later during the day, the Parliamentarians interacted with the Indian Community and attended a function organised by Group of persons of Indian Origin (GOPIO)). This was followed by a roundtable discussion on HIV/AIDS at Johnson & Johnson followed by lunch. Dr. Scott C. Ratzan, Vice President, Pharmaceuticals and Global Health, Johnson & Johnson, and Mr. Wim Parys, VP Global Clinical Development & Scientific Affairs, Tibotec Research and Development (a Johnson & Johnson Company) were also present.

The visit concluded with an interactive meeting with Mr. P Verhoef, Head of Unit, Galileo, Intelligent Transport Systems European Commission, DG TREN. The meeting focused on the further strengthening of India-EU bilateral ties with India's inclusion in the Galileo project. They exchanged views on how India and the EU could foster stronger ties in the field of energy cooperation with regard to clean technologies such as solar, wind and biomass. The delegates expressed their happiness over getting an opportunity to interact with people who were experts in their respective fields.