The E.U. itself is evolving swiftly and has ever more to offer India as a strategic partner.

EVER SINCE I first visited India as a young Minister for Overseas Development, I have been fascinated by the culture, diversity and potential of this giant democracy. My visits in recent years as a European Commissioner have even deepened my interest as India's economy has started to take off.

India, of course, is a formidable success story. This week, as I visit the region, my air ticket was very likely booked in Bangalore and when I phone directory inquiries back home it is a highly polished Indian voice that refers me to the number I seek in Newcastle or Oxford. India has captured a market in trade in services that leaves our balance of trade in this area clearly in India's favour. My friend Jaswant Singh says the economy has "never been better" and with growth at over 8 per cent it is easy to see what he means.

European Union-India trade has doubled over the last ten years or so, but we are not just trading partners. A strong commercial relationship is in both our interests, and the links we have created for example through our Business Dialogue are excellent — but there's more to Europe than trade, just as there's much more to India than trade or investment opportunities. The E.U. may have started out as a trading entity, but it has grown into a Union of values. Like India, we stand for democracy, the rule of law, stable institutions and a free press. When India goes to the polls, more people vote than in the E.U. and North America taken together. If there is a natural partner for Europe in South Asia, then surely it is India.

That is why I am determined that before I leave my post as Commissioner later this year, Europe should present to India a new range of proposals to map out the scope for a richer relationship. We are not starting from a blank sheet of paper. I have just visited India for the second time in three months, and I find that our dialogue already reveals a strong identity of view on the vital importance of multilateralism, and on our approach to worldwide peace keeping. We are developing significant cooperation in the field of technology: India will collaborate on European-led development of the Galileo navigation system, but Indian expertise, in science and IT, means there is much more we can do together.

The E.U. itself is evolving swiftly and has ever more to offer India as a strategic partner. This spring, we will grow to a Union of 25 member-states. Perhaps more important even than this expansion, is the growing maturity of the Union and its capacity to play a role on the world stage. If India wants to see a world in which global responsibilities are more widely and fairly shared, a close relationship with the E.U. makes sense. The special relationship I would like to see is one of equals. Just as we are changing fast, we appreciate that India herself is evolving.

India is developing strategic relationships with the major global players and playing an ever more central role in South Asia, not least as an important regional aid donor. We are full of admiration for the courage that has been shown recently in readdressing the painful problems of Jammu and Kashmir, and in reopening communication with Pakistan. Without the bold steps taken to relaunch dialogue with Pakistan, it is unlikely we would have seen such remarkable progress at the recent meeting of SAARC. The E.U. has a natural interest in regional integration, being itself a kind of project for regional stability and free trade, and we are following with great interest the decision by SAARC to work for a free trade area from 2006. This new initiative is very much to India's credit, and I am very keen that Europe should support it, financially, and by sharing our experience if we can be of help.

My country shares a long relationship with India, but we need, perhaps, to do more to build personal links between the new enlarged Europe and the sub-continent. It is not just because I recently became Chancellor of Oxford University that I believe offering young people the chance to study abroad can have a particularly profound effect on the relationship between countries. During my visit to India, I announced a new Scholarship Programme for Indian Students and Academics with a budget of EUR33 million. I hope that this will help build a closer network between our academics, and encourage leaders of the future to choose Europe for their postgraduate studies.

Later this spring the European Commission will publish our thoughts on how the E.U. and India can make our natural partnership a reality. I hope that India will also feel that the time is right for a new chapter in our relationship — and will respond with ideas of her own.

(The author, the European Union's Commissioner for External Relations, was in New Delhi on February 16 for a Ministerial Troika meeting.)