India - Luxembourg Relations
Political
Diplomatic relations between India and Luxembourg were established in 1947. India enjoys friendly and warm relations with Luxembourg. Relations are further strengthened through regular exchange of high-level visits between the two countries. In the recent past, important visits from India include that of Minister of Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, in September 2006; Minister of overseas Indian Affairs Mr. Vayalar Ravi on 29-30 September 2009 during which an Agreement on Social Security was signed; and a high level Parliamentary Delegation led by Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar from June 10-13, 2010. From Luxembourg, recent important visits include that of Minister of Budget and Treasury, Mr. Luc Frieden leading a financial mission in January 2007, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mr. Jean Asselborn in February, 2007; and an Economic Mission led by the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jeannot Krecke, in April 2007 and Mr. Krecke again visited India in January (9-14) 2010 leading an economic delegation.
Bilateral Visits
(I) Recent visits from India
- Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Mr. B Jakhar, 1988
- Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Mr. Rabi Ray, 1990
- MOS for Health, Mr. Saleem Iqbal Sherwani, 12-13 May 1997
- MOS for External Affairs, Ms Kamla Sinha, 1-2 September1997
- President of India, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, 4-16 September 1998.
- Minister of Commerce, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, October 98.
- MOS for Steel, Mr. Braja Kishore Tripathy, 10-12 Nov. 2002
- Minister for Power Mr. Anant G Geete, 12-14 Nov 2003
- Minister of Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, 13-15 Sep 2006
- Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr. Vayalar Ravi, 29-30 Sep 2009
- Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Lok Sabha Mrs. Meira Kumar, 10-13 June 2010
(II) Recent visits from Luxembourg
- Crown Prince Henri and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Dr.G.Wohlfart , May 1993
- Secretary of State Dr. G.Wohlfart, October 1995
- Secretary of State Dr. G. Wohlfart, May 1996
- Dy PM & Foreign Minister, Mr. Jacques F. Poos in September 1996
- Secretary of State Dr. G. Wohlfart, April 1997
- Prime Minister, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, January 1999
- Dy PM & Foreign Minister, Ms. Lydie Wurth-Polfer, 7-12 Jan 2001
- Minister of Economy and Transport, Mr. Henri Grethen, 17-21 Feb 2003
- Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jeannot Krecke, 28 March-2 April 2005
- Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jeannot Krecke, 28-29 March 2006
- Minister of Treasury, Mr. Luc Frieden, 25-26 Jan 2007
- Dy PM and Foreign Minister, Mr. Jean Asselborn, 19-23 Feb 2007
- Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jeannot Krecke, 23-26 Apr 2007
- Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jeannot Krecke, 9-14 Jan 2010
Important Bilateral Treaties and Agreements:
- Bilateral Agreement on Health in April, 1996
- Cultural Agreement in September, 1996
- Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPPA) in November, 1997 with BLEU.
- Bilateral Air Services Agreement in January, 2001.
- Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion in June, 2008
- Bilateral Social Security Agreement in September, 2009
Economic Relations
The full range of bilateral economic relations is discussed under the framework of India-Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) Economic Joint Commission, the 11th round of which took place in Brussels on May 4-5, 2009. A bilateral Agreement to cooperate in steel technology was signed in February 2003 to increase exchanges in the steel sector. The Paul Wurth Company has been in India for the last two decades and is playing an important role in upgrading steel sector in India in collaboration with SAIL, TISCO, Jindal Steel, etc. (Most of Luxembourg exports to India are due to the Paul Wurth Company.) Other Luxembourg based companies such as ArcelorMittal, John Zink International Luxembourg in the name of Koch Chemical Technology Group India Pvt. Ltd which supplies low emission and clean combustion equipment to Refineries / Petro-Chemical and Fertilizer Plants; Husky, Dometic, CERATIZIT, EMDI Europe S.A. (EMDI) etc are also present in India. ISRO is planning to enter into a Launch Service Agreement with Luxspace Sarl of Luxembourg to launch of two nano satellites pathfinder-3.
Chennai is the Indian hub for Luxembourg’s all-cargo airline Cargolux. Many Indian freight forwarders work with Cargolux to route their European exports efficiently and rapidly (garments, shoes, machinery, original spare parts for European car makers, etc.). An aviation agreement was signed in 2004 to formalize this relationship. Cargolux was operating 3 scheduled weekly flights ex-Chennai since 2004. These flights were temporarily suspended for some time on account of high fuel and operating costs. However, the flights have been resumed in May 2009.
India-Luxembourg Trade during 2004-2009
The total bilateral trade rose from 23 million Euro in 2004 to 44 million Euro in 2009. Indian exports to Luxembourg during the period decreased marginally from 12.2 million Euro in 2004 to 10.6 million Euro in 2009. Indian imports from Luxembourg, on the other hand, increased during the period from 11.4 million Euro in 2004 to 34 million Euro in 2009.
Value: in million euros
source-eurostat
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Major items of Indian exports - Textiles and Clothing, Metal & Metal products, and Engineering items.
Major Items of Indian Imports - Engineering products, Metal and metal products and rubber & plastic products.
India-Luxembourg trade (January-March 2010)
The total trade during the period increased by 21% amounting to 14720 thousand Euro compared to the same period in 2009 of an amount of 12177 thousand Euro.
Value: in thousand Euro
2009 (January-March) |
2010 (January-March) |
% Growth |
|
Indian Exports to Luxembourg |
3661 |
1124 |
-69% |
Indian Imports from Luxembourg |
8516 |
13596 |
60% |
Total Trade |
12177 |
14720 |
21% |
Source:eurostat
Investments
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Luxembourg into India amounted to US $ 280. 66 million from April 2000 to April 2010 (Source: Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion). Luxembourg is the 25th largest investor in India worldwide and 10th largest within the EU. The total FDI into India from Luxembourg comprises only 0.14 percent of the total, much below the potential. Indian direct investment in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in Luxembourg was US$ 18.25 million from April 1996 to February 2006 (Source: Website of Ministry of Finance).
Indian Community
There are about 500 persons of Indian origin in Luxembourg. Most of them are employed in Banks and other multinational corporations. There is a Luxembourg Indian Association and an Indian Business Chamber of Luxembourg (IBCL).