India, Belgium discuss boosting trade, strategic investments in key sectors

India and Belgium have held detailed discussions on enhancing bilateral trade, fostering industrial collaboration, and scaling investments in strategic sectors including semiconductors, clean energy, defence production, and pharmaceuticals, the Commerce Ministry said on Sunday as reported by news agency PTI.

These deliberations took place during the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Brussels on May 2, where he met with Belgian Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade Theo Francken and Minister-President of the Flanders region Matthias Diependaele.

"The discussions highlighted growing economic synergies and focused on scaling bilateral trade, fostering industrial collaboration, and deepening investments in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, defence production, and pharmaceuticals," the commerce ministry said.

The two sides also reviewed the progress in EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and emphasized the need to address both tariff and non-tariff barriers to enhance market access.

Belgium is India’s fifth-largest trading partner within the EU, with bilateral trade reaching $15.07 billion in 2023–24.

Belgian foreign direct investment (FDI) in India totalled $3.94 billion between April 2000 and September 2024, with $1.1 billion—reflecting a 39% growth—coming in the past year alone.