The King of Belgium, His Majesty Albert II, paid a ten-day visit to India from 3 November 2008 and was accorded a rousing ceremonial reception. His Majesty had meetings with President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Accompanied by Queen Paola, the Belgian monarch had a high-powered delegation, including Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and CEOs of key Belgian companies and top officials of universities.

The delegation comprised President of the Belgian Federation of Enterprises as well as a high-level academic team comprising of the Rectors (Belgian equivalent of Indian Vice-Chancellors) and senior staff of 9 major Belgian Universities.

The Belgian sovereigns, accompanied by Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht paid their respects at Raj Ghat. The Indian President hosted a formal State Dinner at Hyderabad House.

Bilateral Relations

India and Belgium share a long history of business relationship, Belgium is an important trading partner for India and is one of the top 5 trading partners in the European Union. Belgium is the third largest trade partner of India in the EU with annual bilateral trade turnover exceeding US$8.6 billion with diamonds, gems and jewellery accounting for a sizable portion of the two-way trade.

Belgium is a founding member of the 27-member European Union and hosts the EU headquarters and other international organizations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The economic diplomacy was in full glare with India’s minister for commerce and industry Kamal Nath having a fruitful meeting with the Belgian monarch and delegation. They discussed matters pertaining to standardisation and testing facilities, conclusion of trade and investment agreement and participation in the development of Indian infrastructure.

The Royal Visit gave a major boost to the economic and academic relationship between Belgium and India with a number of commercial agreements between Belgian and Indian companies being signed.

At the academic level, the universities of India and Belgium inked strategic memoranda of understanding to create a framework for more intensive people to people relations. According to a statement issued by the Belgian Embassy, the State visit by the King and the Queen of Belgium helped in reinforcing and deepening the long standing and excellent relations between the two countries.

One of the notable engagements of the King in Delhi included a seminar on Climate Change and Eco Technologies at The Energy Research Institute (TERI) where he interacted with R.K. Pachauri and J.P. Van Ypersele, chairman and vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His Majesty also visited Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai during his stay in India.

Trade Ties

India’s industry minister Kamal Nath noted that India and Belgium are keen on strengthening bilateral relations by diversifying and boosting trade between the two countries.

In his address at the Luncheon Session on “India and Belgium Partners in a Globalised World” with His Majesty Albert II, the Minister said the bilateral trade between the two countries during 2007-08 was US$8.6 billion that represented a growth of 13 percent over the 2006-07 trade which stood at US$7.6 billion.

India’s major items of exports to Belgium are: natural pearls, iron and steel, organic chemicals, apparels, marine products, tobacco and plastics. India’s major items of imports from Belgium are iron and steel, nuclear reactors, plastic articles, electronic machinery, optical and surgical instruments.

India believes that trade in services is another sector that has the potential to create mutually beneficial opportunities and Belgium, with changing demographics throwing up opportunities for professionals.

“The economic well-being of countries is intrinsically linked to the health of the global economy and the importance of strengthening partnership is well recognized and both the countries have been working constantly towards this,” the Indian Minister added.

Kamal Nath noted, “India can provide such skills and expertise, especially in the fields of health, IT and engineering. A facilitative visa regime will be helpful in boosting Indo-Belgian trade in services”.

B2B Contacts to Intensify

Both India and Belgium felt that they should work towards facilitating business-to-business contacts, focusing on SMEs and to create an enabling business environment. They also agreed on a regular interaction between the two countries to provide a useful opportunity to discuss means for widening the bilateral economic and commercial engagement.