India’s relations with Belgium

Political

Diplomatic relations between India and Belgium were established in 1948. India enjoys warm and friendly relations with Belgium. The relationship is further strengthened with a regular exchange of high level visits. The last high level visit was that of HRH Crown Prince Philippe (March 20-27, 2010) to India leading a 350 plus member economic mission including representatives of 160 Belgian companies spanning all sectors of Belgian economy. This was the largest ever delegation. It was a focused visit targeting our mutual interests in economic and commercial ties and cooperation in different areas of economy. 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. About thirty business to business MOUs/Agreements were signed to enhance economic relations between India and Belgium during his visit.

Important Agreements between Belgium and India

 

Economical and Commercial

11th Economic Joint Commission Meeting

The 11th round of Economic JCM between India and Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) took place in Brussels on May 4-5, 2009 after a gap of eight years. Indian delegation was led by the Commerce Secretary & the BLEU delegation was led by the Director General for Bilateral Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. The Luxembourg delegation was led by  Director, International Economic Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg. The two sides  reviewed the ongoing cooperation and discussed possible cooperation in the fields of transport, iron and steel, diamonds trade, phytosanitary, tourism, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, ICT, aeronautics; investment and market access matters; financial sectors; science and technology ; bilateral social security agreement; Consular matters etc. The meeting has provided an excellent opportunity to review the present status of our economic relationship and also to focus on the future areas of bilateral cooperation. Belgium & India have agreed a Joint Action Plan including the agreed points of the 11th JCM. The next round of the JCM will take place in New Delhi in 2011.

 

Science & Technology

A Belgian satellite was launched by India in 2001. A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in space technology was signed between the two sides in November 1998. India is participating in the EU’s Galileo Project where Belgian companies are also involved. 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 India-Belgium Joint committee on Science & Technology. The two sides agreed to cooperate in the areas of Nano Science and Technology, Life Science, Health care and Agro Bio Tech, new energy resources and clear energy, astronomy and astro-physics, environment and global change, transfer of technology and innovations, mobility of researchers and innovators. The next meeting will be held in New Delhi.

India-Belgium 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. The top three export destinations of Belgium are Germany, France and Netherlands covering approx. 50% of all exports. The top three exporters to Belgium are the Netherlands, Germany and France covering approx. 46.2% of Belgian imports. India is the13th largest exporter to Belgium and 9th largest importer of Belgium.

Bilateral Trade from 2004 to 2009

The total bilateral trade between India and Belgium increased by 11%  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 from 4.2 billion Euro in 2004 to 4.5 billion Euro in 2009.

Main Indian exports to Belgium

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.

Main Indian imports from Belgium

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.

Bilateral Trade during January - March 2010

The total India-Belgium trade during the period Jan-March 2010 was increased by 56%, as compared to the same period in 2009 from 1.5 bn Euro to 2.4 bn Euro. Indian exports to Belgium valued at 860 million euro, increased by 5% in January-March 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Indian imports from Belgium, valued at 1.5 bn euro, increased by 112% during the same period.

 

Investments

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

The Cultural Agreement was signed in 1973. A Cultural Exchange Programme covering the years 1996-98 was signed with the Flemish Community in March, 1996. An India Study Centre was set up in Antwerp in 1996. There is a school of Indian classical music in Brussels and that of Indian classical dance in Ghent, both run by Belgian artists. 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. Many Indian artists, even outside the CEP, visit Belgium on a regular basis to perform.

Indian Community

The Cultural Agreement was signed in 1973. A Cultural Exchange Programme covering the years 1996-98 was signed with the Flemish Community in March, 1996. An India Study Centre was set up in Antwerp in 1996. There is a school of Indian classical music in Brussels and that of Indian classical dance in Ghent, both run by Belgian artists. 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. Many Indian artists, even outside the CEP, visit Belgium on a regular basis to perform.

Bilateral Visits

 

(I)  Visits from India

(II) visits from Belgium