Natural partners: On India-Belgium ties

In terms of size and engagement, Belgium is not one of India’s most important partners. However, the visit of the Belgian Prime Minister to Delhi is part of a larger puzzle of India’s ties with European countries. These have now gained salience with focus areas for India: in economic relations, defence relations and strategic ties. At the top of the agenda in talks between Prime Ministers Bart De Wever and Narendra Modi was bilateral trade opportunities once the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is signed — which is expected in December. India-Belgium trade is about $13 billion, a third of which is from over a century of collaboration in the diamond industry. Antwerp is a global hub for diamond trading, while Mumbai and Surat provide the biggest cutting and polishing services. However, once the EU FTA is signed, they hope to benefit from collaboration in other areas including renewable energy and food processing; the Prime Ministers agreed to set a target of doubling bilateral trade in the next five years. Despite being surrounded by friendly European allies, Belgium has a robust high-tech defence industry — small arms, drone and counter-drone technology, ammunition and naval defence — and is keen to make inroads in the Indian market, with India seeking to diversify its procurement beyond global powers. The two sides agreed on an MoU for co-development of military hardware, and signed a letter of intent on defence cooperation. India will appoint a resident defence attaché to Brussels, complementing Belgium’s move.

Statements by the two leaders, however, indicated that the visit went beyond the bilateral to a more geopolitical framing of strategic ties, both bilateral as well as between India and Europe. At a business event, Mr. De Wever said that Europe is now realising the truth of India’s “warnings” on strategic autonomy from global powers and over dependence in trade and industrial production, in particular referring to China. After the talks, Mr. Modi said that democratic values, a market economy, and people-to-people ties make India and Belgium “natural partners”, a theme he has promoted this past year, as he has stepped up visits to Europe and received a number of European leaders in Delhi, in the run-up to his Brussels visit later this year for the FTA. It is also significant that Mr. De Wever’s visit comes in the same week that New Delhi is preparing to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin for the BRICS summit in Delhi. The engagement with Belgium demonstrates a new maturity for both European countries and India. This shows sensitivity to their respective positions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, indicating that ties outweigh Europe’s enmity and India’s deep friendship with Moscow.