New Delhi: As India concluded the ‘mother of all trade deals’ with the European Union on Thursday, the European Council President António Costa stressed both the strategic and personal significance of the agreement.
“I am the President of the European Council, but I am also an overseas Indian citizen,” he said. “Then, as you can imagine, for me, it has a special meaning. I am very proud of my roots in Goa, where my father’s family came from.”
The former prime minister of Portugal, Costa is also known as the ‘Gandhi of Lisbon’.
He gained the epithet for his dialogue-driven work and negotiating skills when he was the mayor of the city. His Indian supporters know him as ‘Babush’, Konkani for young, loved one.
In 2017, during the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Portugal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Costa with the OCI card.
