The European Union chief, Ursula von der Leyen, was in India this week to attend and celebrate India’s 77th Republic Day, along with European Council President António Costa. The duo also engaged in summit-level talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have finalised a long-awaited Free Trade Agreement after 18 years of negotiations.
She took to Instagram to celebrate the aggreement and wrote in the caption, “Europe and India are making history today. We have concluded the mother of all deals. We have created a free trade zone of two billion people, with both sides set to benefit. This is only the beginning. We will grow our strategic relationship to be even stronger.”
Ursula even visited President Droupadi Murmu’s home in Delhi before the Republic Day celebrations, where she was the guest of honour. During this public appearance, Indians all over were overjoyed to see Ursula and PM Modi twinning in traditional Eri silk scarves during her visit to India.
The Eri Silk scarf finds its origins in Meghalaya and is a traditional silk, which is also known as Ryndia and Ahimsa Silk. It officially received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag in June 2025. It is called peace silk because of the way it is produced – without killing the silkworms. This GI tag recognises the sustainable, handwoven heritage preserved for generations by communities like the Khasis
In fact, a lot of Northeast India’s rich handloom, handicraft and agro-horticultural traditions were showcased at the “At Home” banquet hosted by the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday, January 27.
