The ambassador speaking at a conference at the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata said that India has an important part to play on the global warming issue. “India can shape the policy in this regard and its position is not the same as it was 10 years ago when Kyoto Protocol was signed,” said Smadja.

Besides speaking on environmental issues, the ambassador said that the EU was willing to invest in Indian infrastructure and in the services sector like the postal service.

Regarding the issue of signing up a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and India, she said that it has been decided that 90 percent of the overall trade will come under that FTA. “We have put our offer on the table and we are waiting for the response of Government of India,” she said. The Indian government was supposed to come up with the offer by last November.

Asking Indian IT companies to set up their centers in the European countries, the ambassador of EU also showed willingness to cooperate with India in the IT sector.