Gandhi of Portugal: Tracing OCI citizen and EU council chief Antonio Costa’s Indian roots | India News

When European Council President Antonio Costa held up his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card in New Delhi, it struck a deeply personal note during the signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The gesture served as a reminder that global diplomacy is shaped not only by strategy and markets, but also by memory, migration and lineage.The moment came as India and the European Union sealed the long-awaited FTA, hailed by Brussels as the “most ambitious” trade pact in the bloc’s history.Costa spoke of his personal connection to India and said he is an Indian citizen by origin. He also thanked the country for the Republic Day invitation, and underlined that India-EU ties are deeply personal for him.Addressing an audience at Hyderabad House, Costa linked the historic deal to his own story. “I am from Goa,” he said, recalling his ancestral roots in the Indian coastal state.Holding up his OCI card, he added: “I’m the President of the European Council, but I’m also an overseas Indian citizen. Then, as you can imagine, for me it has a special meaning. I’m very proud of my roots in Goa, where my father’s family came from and the connection between Europe and India is something personal to me.”