Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende, left, greets his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, on Nov. 8 at The Hague, prior to a summit with the Dutch E.U. presidency and E.U. foreign policy chief Javier Solana. (Photo: AFP)

The Hague : Seeing themselves as “two poles of stability,” India and the European Union (E.U.) on Nov. 8 entered into a “strategic partnership,” giving their ties a broader political sweep and a new dimension. India is only the sixth nation with which the E.U. has a strategic partnership after the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan and China.

“E.U. and India are poles of stability, but there are a lot of areas of instability between us,” Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh following the 5th India-E.U. summit here.

Balkenende, the current president of the European Council, listed the Balkans, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan as areas of instability and said: “India has a crucial role to play for the security and stability of South Asia and Asia as a whole.” Singh said: “Instability in our common and extended neighborhood is a matter of concern to both India and the E.U.”

He said the launching of the strategic partnership would impart a “strategic depth” to bilateral ties. “Our partnership is vital to managing the challenges of global interdependence.”

The two sides issued a 10-page joint statement listing a 32-point bilateral agenda and identified some key areas for implementation immediately, including a mechanism for a dialogue on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. India is also likely to participate as an “equal partner” in the E.U.’s $1.41 billion Galileo satellite navigation project that is being developed as an alternative to the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the U.S. India, which had pledged $386 million for the project, had insisted that it would participate only as an “equal partner” and not as a “mere customer.”