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NEW DELHI: The European Union could be the biggest source of advanced technology to India and the number one platform to get the country integrated into the global economic chain, its envoy to India Joao Cravinho said ahead of Narendra Modi's maiden trip to Europe as Prime Minister

The PM is due to visit Europe from April 9 to 14. Even as the India-EU Summit at Brussels earlier proposed during Modi's Europe tour has been postponed, the regional body is upbeat about the future of ties between the two entities. Cravinho said that Europe is very much on the radar of the new government in India which will complete one year in May.

"EU is today the biggest source of investment to India and the biggest trading partner of Delhi as a bloc. Besides, it can be the biggest source of advanced and high technology to India which comes with investments," Cravinho told ET.

While French investments in India touched $19 billion last year, Germany has been the eighth largest foreign direct investor in India since 2000. German FDI in India between 1991 and September 2014 was valued at $7.57 billion. There are more than 1,600 Indo-German collaborations and over 600 Indo-German joint ventures in operation. Hannover Fair, where India is the partner and which Modi will jointly inaugurate with Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 12, is expected to generate additional investments and boost 'Make in India' initiative.

Cravinho said that Europe has solutions to Modi government's flagship programmes across sectors - Make in India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat Mission, Save Ganges mission as well as the ambitious Smart Cities initiative.

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European Union can provide India with advanced technology, says Joao Cravinho