India, Belgium agree to double bilateral trade, deepen ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart, Bart De Wever, agreed on Thursday to significantly deepen bilateral cooperation across trade, defence, clean energy, and technology during high-level talks in New Delhi. The meeting, which marked the first visit by a Belgian prime minister to India in nearly two decades, resulted in a series of agreements aimed at doubling bilateral trade within five years and establishing new strategic partnerships. The central outcome was a commitment to double bilateral trade, which reached $13.01 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year. To facilitate this, the leaders announced the creation of an Investment Fast-Track Mechanism for Belgian companies. Belgium is currently the 18th-largest source of foreign direct investment into India, with cumulative inflows of $4.2 billion between April 2000 and December 2025. Defence and security emerged as a new pillar of the relationship. The two countries signed five Memorandums of Understanding, including two focused on boosting indigenous defence manufacturing through co-design and co-development. Belgium also announced it would appoint a defence attaché to its embassy in New Delhi.