Prime Minister Modi’s European Tours in Perspective

Outcome and Implications of Prime Minister’s Recent European Tour

During Prime Minister Modi’s recent European tour, EU Member States have been quick to pin down MoUs and relevant agreements across the fields of energy security, clean technology, defense and security and strategic supply chains - including critical raw materials. A wide range of themes were covered across Modi’s different stops in European capitals with strong implications for the security and defense domains, as well as new areas such as space and geospatial sectors, polar research, hydrographic cooperation or supply chain resilience. In addition, landmark deals were reached, particularly the Swedish Saab deal, which amounts to USD 60 million and constitutes India’s first 100 per cent foreign direct investment project in the defense sector entirely developed by a foreign company. This is unprecedented considering New Delhi’s historic protectionism of its sensitive sectors when it comes to FDI. Another crucial deal that has been reached is the MoU signed between Dutch-led ASML and Tata Electronics in May 2026 which supports the first commercial semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat, by training local talent, lithography intensive skill development and proactive supply chain resilience.

The conclusion of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in January 2026 combined with key landmark security and mobility agreements has clearly accelerated crucial bilateral agreements between India and individual EU Member States. More specifically, the signing of a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), the conclusion of an India-EU Comprehensive Framework of Cooperation on Mobility and the launch of negotiations around a Security of Information Agreement (SoIA) are crucial for the strategic future of the EU-India partnership. In fact, now that the EU-India institutional dust has settled somewhat, there seems to be more movement between India and individual European countries than at EU-India level itself.

While this is understandable by the very nature of the EU and its mammoth bureaucracy, both should ideally advance in a synchronized manner. The EU has shown the intent to move forward fast at the B2B and advanced tech corporate level, as the recent first edition of the EU-India Business Forum under the EU-India Trade and Technology (TTC) shows; a much-needed step. In this instance, the corporate dimension precedes the upcoming EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Ministerial meeting lined up for July 2026.

Unweaving the Diversification of Indian Foreign Policy Towards Europe

After the UAE, Modi continued to Europe, visiting capitals spread across the Nordic, Western, and Southern parts of the continent. This speaks to an increasingly obvious diversification in India’s European portfolio, not only across sectors but also across sub-regions. In fact, the 3rd India-Nordic Summit hosted by Norway was also part of Prime Minister Modi’s tour. This does not undermine the historical depth and strategic relevance of the Indo-French or Indo-German relationships in security and economic terms, respectively, but it does give a greater weight to till now ‘second-tier’ pawns on India’s European chessboard. It further goes to show how unprecedented but increasingly strategic regions are moving into India’s mainstream radius, namely the Arctic and the Mediterranean.

More importantly, while the nature of the deals reached in Modi’s recent European tour had a defense and security component, they also breached into unchartered territory across all partners. This means that the most innovative domains are no longer reserved for the historic strategic partners but that there is the intent to cover as much new ground across as many partners as possible to hedge India’s interests. Bottom-line issues along the lines of energy security, safety and security of seafarers, green technology development and ship-building - including sustainable recycling of ships - were discussed during Prime Minister’s European tour. There is thus a parallel de-risking strategy in place at a time of heightened vulnerability for the Indian economy with April 2026 IMF growth predictions for India going from 7.6 per cent in 2025 to 6.5 per cent in 2026 and 2027. More pressingly, New Delhi must secure its energy, food, and fertilizer supplies against a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Europe, across the board, is very much part of this effort.

Prime Minister Modi has not declined to participate in the G7 Summit held in France despite his public call for austerity measures to the Indian public at large prior to embarking on his first European tour. His narrative, however, did shed additional doubts domestically and internationally on India’s allegedly successful economic growth story. It further begs the question of why Prime Minister Modi would be keen to attend the G7 Summit at a time of heightened fragility for India, whose population, including the estimated 9 million-large diaspora community in the Gulf, is suffering first-hand the impact of the Iran War. Taking part in a G7 Summit very much epitomizes India sitting at the high table of international politics. It further points to India’s multiple identities: one of an aspirational rising power against a lower-middle income economy with GDP per capita rates lower than the Maldives or Sri Lanka in 2024. According to World Bank estimates, it would take India an average of 25 years to reach high-income status assuming the current economic growth rate endures. This is not so far-fetched from the Indian Government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

The real question for Europeans, however, is whether India can build and sustain the capacity to pursue such a multi-layered strategy over time-engaging individual EU Member States, the EU as an institution, and the wider world all at once. 

Copyright image : Joe Klamar / AFP
Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bratislava, Slovakia, on June 15, 2026.