India and Belgium have set an ambitious target to double their bilateral trade within five years, building on the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement and expanding cooperation into defence, clean energy, semiconductors, and critical minerals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever announced new mechanisms to accelerate investment, strengthen military collaboration, and deepen people-to-people ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement concluded earlier this year has opened unprecedented opportunities for economic cooperation.

He described the agreement as historic, emphasising that it would strengthen global stability, growth, and shared prosperity.

India and Belgium have already taken steps to translate these opportunities into tangible outcomes. An Investment Fast-Track Mechanism has been established in India to facilitate Belgian companies. 

Additionally, the India-Belgium Business Forum will now function as a regular mechanism to enhance synergy between financial, fintech, and regulatory institutions of both nations. These measures are expected to help achieve the goal of doubling bilateral trade within five years.

Bilateral trade between India and Belgium stood at approximately $13.01 billion in 2025-26, with cumulative Belgian investment in India reaching around $4.2 billion between April 2000 and December 2025.

Doubling trade would push annual commerce beyond $26 billion, or nearly ₹2,16,000 crores, underscoring the scale of ambition.

On defence and security, both sides agreed to enhance military exchanges and training cooperation. Agreements between governments and defence industries will create opportunities for co-development and co-production of advanced defence systems. Intelligence sharing and cooperation against crime will also be strengthened.

Clean energy and critical minerals were highlighted as priority areas. A Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy was signed, giving new momentum to sustainability cooperation.

Both countries will enhance collaboration in the processing and recycling of critical minerals, vital for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy equipment, and advanced technologies.

Semiconductors emerged as another key area of partnership. Belgium’s IMEC Institute, a global leader in semiconductor research and nanoelectronics, will be integrated with India’s growing semiconductor ecosystem. This cooperation is expected to boost research, innovation, skills development, and advanced technology production.

People-to-people ties were also emphasised. India and Belgium will strengthen cooperation between Start-Ups, enhance capacity building in the maritime sector, and reinforce collaboration in university and research fields. A Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement will soon be signed to facilitate the movement of talent between the two countries.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is on a three-day official visit to India, his first since assuming office in February 2025. His visit marks the first by a Belgian Prime Minister to India in two decades. 

He is accompanied by Belgium’s Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken and a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders, including representatives from the Belgian defence industry.

This visit builds on the inaugural India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue held in Brussels in July 2026, which provided a structured framework for bilateral cooperation. The current engagements are expected to accelerate momentum and deliver concrete outcomes across economic, defence, and technological domains.

ANI