European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend India’s 77th Republic Day celebration as the chief guest. The Republic Day parade will take place at the Kartavya
Path in the national capital on Monday, January 26, 2026.
India is hosting Leyen and European Council President António Luís Santos da Costa, as Republic Day chief guests.
Apart from the Republic Day event, Leyen and Costa would represent the EU in the 16th EU-India Summit, scheduled to take place on January 27. Major FTA talks and the “mother of all deals” are expected to be discussed in this summit.
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, received the EU Commission chief at the airport.
“Charting the next phase of the India–EU Strategic partnership. A warm welcome to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen, on her State Visit to India. Received by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; and Electronics and Information Technology @JitinPrasada. As the world’s two largest democracies, India and the EU share a partnership rooted in mutual trust and shared values,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
Charting the next phase of the India–EU Strategic partnership.
A warm welcome to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen, on her State Visit to India. Received by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; and Electronics and Information… pic.twitter.com/HR9d7XLdYE
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 24, 2026
EU Set To Sign ‘Mother Of All Deals’ With India
Meanwhile, the European Union is close to finalising a free trade agreement with India that could create a market of nearly two billion people and account for almost a quarter of global GDP, Leyen had said, signalling what she described as a potentially historic moment in EU–India economic ties.
While addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Leyen said that while some steps remain, negotiations are nearing their conclusion.
“There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement. Some call it the mother of all deals,” she said, during a section of her speech focused on expanding and diversifying Europe’s trade partnerships.
Further an EU official said that the Commission and New Delhi are set to unveil a “Security and Defence Strategic Partnership” during the upcoming meeting.
Terming the current period as a “culmination of remarkable intensifying relations,” the official noted that both sides now recognise that their security and prosperity are fundamentally linked in a shifting global landscape.
A key deliverable of the summit will be the signing of the Security and Defence Partnership by the EU’s HRVP Kaja Kallas and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. This marks only the third such comprehensive agreement the EU has signed in Asia, following Japan and the Republic of Korea.
