India-Belgium Relations

Diplomatic relations between India and Belgium were established in 1948 and our bilateral relations are cordial and friendly. In recent times, Belgium has acknowledged the growing importance of Asia and has emphasized the value of strengthening economic relations with India. 

Recent High Level Visits to India

Crown Prince Philippe (March 20-27, 2010) visited India leading a 350 plus member economic mission including representatives of 160 Belgian companies spanning all sectors of the Belgian economy. He had led similar missions in 1995, 1998 and 2005. The visit was focused on advancing our mutual interests in economic and commercial areas and advancing our overall bilateral relations. During the visit, he met with the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, EAM, Minister of Shipping, Minister of New & Renewable Energy and the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and about thirty business to business MOUs/Agreements were signed.

The King of the Belgians, Albert II visited India from 3-12 November 08 accompanied by Queen Paola, the then Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and a sizeable academic and business delegation. The State Visit at the level of the King from Belgium to India took place after 1970 reflecting a desire on the part of Belgians to enhance the level of the relationship with India. Besides Delhi, the King also visited Agra, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mammalapurum and Chennai. FM Gucht publicly declared, during his interaction with industry representatives in Delhi, Belgian support for India’s candidature for permanent membership of an expanded UNSC. Several MOUs/Agreements were signed across public and private sector firms on banking, port embarkation, application of nuclear / radiology techniques to agriculture modernization, information technology, etc.  MOUs were also signed on academic cooperation between the universities of the two countries.  Both countries agreed to raise the level of their bilateral relationship and also to double the quantum of bilateral trade in the next five years.

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (BPM) visited India from 2-7 November 2006. He was accompanied by the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and the Secretary of State Vincent Van Quickenborne. It was the first visit by a Belgian Prime Minister to India since 1997.  He visited New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai where he addressed business / economic seminars. Several Agreements/MOUs in the areas of port construction, scientific research in micro-electronics, space, dredging and others were signed during the visit of BPM. A landmark Agreement on Social Security was also signed between the two countries.

Recent High Level Visits from India

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Brussels from 9-11 December 2010. This was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister since the visit of the then Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai in 1978. During the visit, apart from attending the India-EU annual summit engagements, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Egmont Palace and held a delegation level bilateral meeting with the Belgium Prime Minister Yves Leterme at the same venue on 10 December 2010. The Belgian Prime Minister also hosted a banquet in the honour of visiting Prime Minister. In delegation level talks, the entire gamut of India-Belgium bilateral relations was reviewed, in particular the increasing economic engagement between the two countries. An India-Belgium business meeting, “Brilliant India”, with participation of leading businesspersons from India and Belgium was also organized during the visit. Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Anand Sharma represented India at the meeting and the Belgian side was represented by the Deputy prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere.

Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari visited Brussels from 3-5 October 2010 to attend the ASEM 8 Summit. During the visit, he briefly interacted with the King of Belgium at the banquet hosted by the King for visiting Heads of delegations and also had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Yves Leterme. In the meeting with the Belgian PM, they re-affirmed the cordial ties between India and Belgium and discussed the broad canvass of growing India-EU relations.

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi visited Belgium from 10-12 November 2006 to inaugurate the TEJAS Exhibition, the central theme of the festival of India (October 2006 – January 2007). During the visit she met with the King and Queen of Belgium and the Belgian Prime Minister. She was accompanied by the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Mrs. Ambika Soni and President ICCR, Dr. Karan Singh. Dr. Karan Singh, President ICCR paid a preparatory visit to Brussels from 30 May – 3 June 2006 in connection with the BOZAR-India cultural festival during which he met the Foreign Minister of Belgium and again from 6-8 October 2006 to inaugurate the ‘Festival of India’.

The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Mr. Vayalar Ravi visited Belgium from 30 September -3 October 2009 to jointly inaugurate the India Calling Conference 2009 in Brussels on September 30 with the then Belgian Foreign Minister Yves Leterme.  During the visit, MOIA met his Belgian counterpart Ms. Lauratte Onkelix, Deputy PM & Minister for Social Affairs & Health to discuss several areas of bilateral cooperation. 

Other recent Ministerial level visits include the visit of EAM Mr. Natwar Singh in September 2004 at the invitation of Javier Solana, EU High Representative during which he met with the Belgian Foreign Minister;   Minister of State Mr. Prithivraj Chavan, along with a group of Parliamentarians from 3-5 March 2005 to participate in the Third International Conference on Federalism during which he met the Presidents of two Houses of Belgian Parliament; Minister of Finance  Mr. P. Chidambaram on 17 September  2007 during which he met the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister; and earlier   from 11-13 June 2006 to address the Investors’ Conference during which he met the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister;  and Minister of Civil Aviation Mr. Praful Patel in May 2007 in connection with signing of an Agreement by Jet Airways to start their direct flights from India to Brussels to onward destinations, and again  on 22nd October 2007 during which he met the Belgian PM to discuss rights for additional flights between India and Belgium.

Recent Official level visits include the visit of Foreign Secretary Mr.  Shyam Saran in June 2005; Secretary, Department of Science and Technology leading  a 3-member delegation for the first meeting of India-Belgium Joint Committee on Science and Technology from June 25-27, 2007;  Secretary, Pension & Adm. Reform  from July 31-August 3, 2008; Secretary (West)  from July 28-30, 2008 as special envoy of PM to discuss Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) issues and for the first meeting of the Foreign Office Consultations between India and Belgium;  and the Commerce Secretary in May 2009 for the 11th round of Economic JCM between India and Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) in Brussels

Bilateral Treaties and Agreements

            The agreements signed and in force between India and Belgium are as under:

Economic and Trade Relations

Belgium has emerged as one of India’s important trading partners in the EU. Trade in gems and jewelry constitutes about 75% of the bilateral trade.  It has been our objective to diversify bilateral trade by expanding the trade basket.  Some promising areas for diversification are information and communication technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and automotive parts.  India’s proven track record in IT sector can also enable it to find a niche in Belgium, which is among the leading EU member states in e-commerce and e-governance.  The location advantage of Belgium, being at the heart of Western Europe, makes it a lucrative market for automotive parts, Iron and steel, machinery and engineering sectors with great potential.  Belgian business interests in India cover energy, ports, construction, banking and finance, electronics and software, chemicals and fertilizers, solar energy and biotechnology. Ports of Nhava Sheva and Antwerp signed an agreement in 2007 for secure trade lane project to allow hassle free export-import of selected items between India and Belgium.

Science & Technology cooperation

A Belgian satellite was launched by India in 2001.  An MOU on cooperation in space technology was signed between the two sides in November 1998. A framework agreement for cooperation in Science and Technology was signed during the visit of Belgian PM to India in November 2006. Secretary, Department of Science and Technology Dr. T. Ramasami led a 4-member delegation to Belgium from June 25 – 27, 2007 for the First Meeting of the India-Belgium Joint committee on Science & Technology. The Second Meeting of the Joint Committee on Science & Technology was held in New Delhi on 13 April 2011. It was agreed that both sides will exchange lists of nationally funded projects for identification of areas of mutual interest and research groups in both countries for possible networking through mobility support as ‘topping up’. It was agreed that calls for proposals would be issued twice a year (June and December) for such topping supports. It was also agreed that joint workshops may be organized for information exchange and enhancing interactions between Indian and Belgian scientific communities. Topics of these workshops may be identified from the areas of ongoing national research projects in India and Belgium as well as the post-doctoral fellowship programme.

12th Economic Joint Commission Meeting

The 12th round of Economic JCM between India and Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) took place in New Delhi on 15 April 2011. The twelfth session of the Economic Joint Commission was an opportunity to highlight the excellent relations between India and BLEU, and to identify areas of further co-operation in economic and commercial areas. Belgium and Luxembourg are important partners of India. With India’s developing economy and the vibrant economies of Belgium and Luxembourg this partnership is strategic and valuable to India. The dynamic nature of commercial exchanges seen in the last few years is reflected in the increased bilateral trade and investment flows.

India Calling Conference

The Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC) held its annual event India Calling Conference 2009 in Brussels from 30 September - 2 October 2009 in partnership with Belgo-Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BICC&I) and Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC).   The event was jointly inaugurated by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Belgian Foreign Minister on 30 September 2009. The conference was attended by around 100 company representatives from India and similar number from Belgium, and some from other EU States. 

Bilateral Trade

Belgium is the third largest trading partner of India in the European Union with annual bilateral trade turnover amounting Euro 7.1 billion in 2009. India is the13th largest exporter to Belgium and 9th largest importer of Belgian products. The major items of Indian exports to Belgium are- Natural/cultured pearls, Precious stones and metals; Textiles and articles; Base metals; Iron and steel; Chemical products; Articles of apparel and clothing accessories; Articles of apparel and clothing accessories; Mineral products; Organic chemicals; Machinery and Electrical Equipments etc. The major items of Indian imports from Belgium are- Natural/cultured pearls; Precious stones and metals; Base metals; Iron and steel; Machinery and mechanical appliances; Chemical products; boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances & parts thereof: Organic chemicals; Plastic and rubber; Plastics and articles thereof; Pharmaceutical products etc.

The bilateral trade between India and Belgium between 2004 and 2009 has increased by 11% growing from 6.4 billion euro in 2004 to 7.1 billion euro in 2009. Indian exports to Belgium increased by 18%, from 2.2 billion Euro in 2004 to 2.6 billion Euro in 2009. Indian imports from Belgium on the other hand increased by 7% during the same period, growing from 4.2 billion Euro in 2004 to 4.5 billion Euro in 2009.

INDIA-BELGIUM TRADE FROM 2004-2009

Value in Billion Euro

Year	Indian	Indian	Trade	Total
	Exports	Imports	Balance	Trade
2004	2.2	4.2	-2	6.4
2005	2.4	5.1	-2.7	7.5
2006	3	4.6	-1.6	7.6
2007	3.3	5.3	-2	8.6
2008	3.8	5	-1.2	8.8
2009	2.6	4.5	-2	7.1
Growth 2004 -2009	18%	7%	195	11%
Jan-Sept 2010	2.14	4.88	-2.74	7.02

Source: Eurostat

After registering a decline in 2009, bilateral trade has witnessed a significant rebound in 2010, as reflected in the data available for the period January-September 2010. It has increased to €7.02 billion from €4.46 billion during the same period in 2009, an increase of 57.45%. Indian exports to Belgium during January-September 2010 increased to €2.14 billion from €1.51 during the same period in 2009, an increase of 41.6%. The recovery in Belgian exports has been even more impressive increasing by 65.57% to €4.88 billion in January-September 2010 from €2.95 billion during the same period in 2009.

Bilateral Investment

Belgium has emerged as the 23rd largest investor in India worldwide and the 9th largest within the EU but the total FDI in India from Belgium is still relatively small, less than 0.5% of the total. A cumulative figure of FDI inflows from Belgium into India amounts to US $ 327.84  million from April 2000 to April 2010,  almost half of which had come from April 2008 to March 2010- (up to March 2008 it was US Dollars 180 million.)  In the recent past, Indian investment in Belgium has exceeded investment by Belgian firms in India mainly through several take-overs of Belgian firms by Indian companies.   Several Indian companies particularly in the IT and software sector have established bases in Belgium to cater to Belgian as well as the European market. 

Cultural Cooperation

India has a Cultural Agreement with Belgium.  Cultural exchange and cooperation takes place on a regular basis between the two countries. Belgium has not forgotten the sacrifices made by thousands of Indian soldiers in Flanders during World War I.  To commemorate their memory, an Indian Memorial Pillar has been installed along side the Menin Gate in Ieper, where ceremonies are organized along side the main Armistice Day celebrations on November 10/11 every year.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in association with the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) organized an India Festival from October 2006- January 2007. The festival included, inter alia, art, theatre, musical and dance performances, fashion shows and a food festival.

Indian Community in Belgium

According to the information received from the local Government the total number of Indians upto 2006 were around 16,132 out of which 10,000 Indian nationals have obtained Belgian citizenship and remaining 6000 are involved in various economic activities.  Around 2,500 Indian NRIs/PIOs, based in Antwerp mainly from Gujarat are involved in diamond trade.  Their contribution to the trade and commerce of Belgium is widely acknowledged by the Belgian leadership. The proposal for dual nationality for Belgian PIOs/NRIs has been agreed to by GOI.  There are around 500-1000 Indian students pursuing studies in educational institutions of Belgium.