New Delhi, Feb 15: As India and Pakistan begin their first round of peace negotiations in Islamabad tomorrow, Chris Patten, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for external relations, will arrive here to participate in the India-EU Troika meeting. Patten, better known in the region for his stint as the Governor of Hong Kong before it was handed over to China, will have discussions with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha on various issues including the India-Pakistan talks in Islamabad. Patten will be part of EU ministerial troika led by Irish Foreign Minister Brain Cowen. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard R Bot is the other member of the team. Ireland presently holds the rotating EU presidency. In New Delhi, the Troika is likely to discuss the coming European Commission communication on relations with India as well as the situation in the region, including India-Pakistan relations, the recent successful SAARC summit, Afghanistan and the dissolution of Parliament In Sri Lanka. The fourth India-EU summit was held here in November last year. The issue of non-proliferation in the wake of the A Q Khan episode in Pakistan and international security issues are also likely to figure in the talks. The three leaders are also likely to call on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and opposition leader Sonia Gandhi. The EU is expected to underline its willingness to support the new South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) announced at the SAARC summit. SAFTA is scheduled to come into force by 2006.
The Troika will also visit Afghanistan on February 17 and Pakistan on February 19. The visit comes ahead of the Berlin International conference to review political and financial challenges facing Afghanistan. The EU is a major donor to Afghanistan's reconstruction.
Europe accounts for 23 per cent of India's exports and 21 per cent of imports. Bureau Report