New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched for bringing out an "action-oriented" agenda to further expand ties between India and the 27-nation European Union within a stipulated time frame.

In his inaugural remarks at the 15th EU-India summit, the prime minister said he was committed to enhance ties with the grouping, noting that a long-term strategic perspective should be adopted to boost the relationship.

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"We should go for an action-oriented agenda to expand ties and it can be implemented within a stipulated time frame," Modi said at the virtual summit.

Calling India and EU as "natural partners", the prime minister said the partnership is beneficial for peace and stability in the world.

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"India and EU share universal values like democracy, pluralism, respect for international institutions, inclusivity, multilateralism, freedom and transparency," he said.

The prime minister said India-EU partnership can play an important role in economic reconstruction and in building a human-centric globalisation.

The European Union delegation at the summit is headed by President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU is a strategically important grouping for India. The EU as a whole was India's largest trading partner in 2018. India's bilateral trade with the EU in 2018-19 stood at USD 115.6 billion with exports valued at USD 57.17 billion and imports worth USD 58.42 billion.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)