Princess Astrid led Belgium Economic Mission concludes visit to India
Visits
6 min read
The Belgium Princess Astrid led an Economic Mission of Belgium to India from 1-8 March 2025 to boost trade and investment ties between India and Belgium.
This was the second visit of the Economic Mission led by Princess Astrid to India after 2013.
Her visit to India comes after the formation of a new government in Belgium under Prime Minister Bart De Wever, 493 days after the general election in the country.
Highlights of Belgium Economic Mission visit to India
The Belgium Economic Mission mainly visited New Delhi and Mumbai. There was a brief visit to the Belgium company Agristo-Masa potato processing facility in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.
Composition of the Belgium delegation
Princess Astrid's delegation included;
- Maxime Prevot, Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister and Minister of European Affairs and Development Cooperation;
- Theo Francken, Defence Minister and Minister for Foreign Trade; and
- Matthias Diependale, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Economy, Foreign Affairs, Innovation and Industry, Digitisation and Facility Management.
The delegation also included 325 member Belgian delegates, comprising of CEOs of key Belgian companies, businesses, academic representatives, and high-ranking officials of the country.
New Delhi Visit of the Delegation
The Belgian delegation visited New Delhi first and held talks with political leaders of India.
In New Delhi, Princess Astrid met;
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi;
- External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar;
- Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh;
- Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal and
- Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav.
Business Meeting in Mumbai
The Belgium Economic Mission visited Mumbai, which is also the financial capital of India.
Princess Astrid met Maharashtra Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.
In Mumbai, the Indo-Belgian Tech Forum meeting was held.
During her visit to India, over 35 agreements were signed between the two countries in the field of business and academic collaboration. Both sides agreed to collaborate in the field Green Technology, Healthcare, Defence, Food Processing, Ports and Education.
About Economic Mission
The Belgium Economic Mission is organised by the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency in collaboration with the three main regions of Belgium- Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Walloon communities, and Belgium.
It organises two Economic Missions per year. In 2025, the Economic Mission will visit India and the United States of America.
The Economic Mission is headed by Princess Astrid as the representative of the Belgium King.
The main aim of the Mission is to promote Belgium as an investment and trade destination.
Trade between India and Belgium
The total trade between India and Belgium in 2023-24 was $15.08 billion.
Export
India’s exports to Belgium in 2023-24 were US$ 7.84 billion.
Gems and Jewellery (US$ 2.09 billion) was the largest commodity to be exported from India to Belgium, followed by Engineering Goods (US$ 1.72 billion) and petroleum products (US$ 1.10 billion).
Import
India’s import was US$ 7.24 billion in 2023-24.
The major commodity to be imported from Belgium was pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (US$ 2.79 billion), followed by nuclear reactors and other parts (US$ 580.79 million), plastic and articles thereof (US$ 323.84 million).
Capital of Belgium: Brussels
Currency: Euro
Prime Minister: Bart De Wever
Also read: Bart De Wever sworn in as Belgium’s New Prime Minister
