Narendra Modi has his eyes set on boosting business: Joao Cravinho, EU Ambassador

While the world’s antiauthoritarian superpower was maintaining armslength from Narendra Modi (then Gujarat Chief Minister successful 2012-13), Europe led by an European Union delegation successful India was softly engaging with the BJP person astir 2 years earlier the Lok Sabha elections. In fact, Ambassador Joao Cravinho, caput of the EU delegation, led Ambassadors of assorted European countries to a quiescent luncheon with Modi astatine the superior past year. And successful the runup to the polls, helium adjacent travelled crossed India to get a consciousness of the probable result and interacted with each players cutting crossed the governmental spectrum, thing overseas envoys seldom do. In an interrogation with ET, Ambassador Cravinho described India’s caller Prime Minister arsenic a antheral with clarity of thought who has a wide imaginativeness for India and governance. The Ambassador feels that EU subordinate states person the imaginable to thrust Modi’s economical diplomacy and assistance boost India’s economical health.

How bash you presumption this triumph of Narendra Modi and the BJP? And however volition it interaction the Indian economy?

We privation India to bash well. This predetermination has ensured that there’s governmental stableness for the adjacent 5 years. A decisive enactment would mean tougher decisions, and nary bully governance is imaginable without pugnacious decisions. The BJP-led NDA has a wide mandate to instrumentality bold and innovative decisions. International authorities is not astir zero-sum crippled and portion India would economically prosecute different powers, EU has the imaginable to thrust maturation successful India. EU is already the azygous biggest trading spouse arsenic a bloc, and is the azygous largest root of FDI for India arsenic a bloc. We are acceptable to conscionable India’s needs successful the fields of exertion and funds.

You person interacted with Modi erstwhile helium was the Gujarat Chief Minister. How bash you complaint him arsenic a person of modern India?

As a erstwhile Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, I had interacted with assorted leaders worldwide and I tin accidental that Mr Modi is among the best. He has clarity of thought and wide imaginativeness of governance and that’s what India requires. He besides has a precise wide knowing of the challenges earlier the country. He is simply a bully listener arsenic good arsenic a bully talker and tin prosecute successful enriching discussions. No Prime Minister would similar to person communal strife connected his record, and I americium definite that helium would not let immoderate communal tensions successful India. His precedence is to boost the system and helium has his eyes acceptable connected that.

Where bash India-EU relations spell from here? What are the precedence areas for India-EU and what’s the aboriginal of Free Trade Agreement that’s being negotiated for galore years now?

Negotiators from India and European Union are connected the occupation to reason the FTA. The projected statement volition pb to greater openness. In the past, EU held discussions with the BJP connected the FTA. We instrumentality Mr Modi’s code connected economical issues connected February 27 arsenic a positive. I person nary uncertainty that the FTA volition payment India. We anticipation that determination volition beryllium advancement successful FTA earlier the adjacent India-EU Summit astatine Brussels.