India, Belgium launch Strategic Dialogue

• India and Belgium held the first meeting of the Strategic Dialogue in Brussels on July 15.

• It marks a significant step towards strengthening bilateral relations through a more structured and comprehensive partnership.

• The inaugural session of the Strategic Dialogue was co-chaired by Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Maxime Prévot, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation of Belgium.

• Anchored in the broader context of the India-European Union Strategic Partnership, the Strategic Dialogue will provide a regular, comprehensive and results-oriented framework for political engagement.

• India and Belgium agreed to deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, the green energy transition, innovation and technology, connectivity, defence, security, regional and global issues, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

• India and Belgium reaffirmed their shared commitment to a stronger, more ambitious and future-oriented partnership that benefits the peoples of both countries, in keeping with the growing importance of bilateral relations and the evolving international environment.

India-Belgium Relations

• Belgium was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India in September 1947. 

• India and Belgium share close ties underpinned by strong mutual interests in trade and investment. 

• The India-BLEU Joint Economic Commission (JCM), established in 1997, is the primary platform for discussing bilateral economic and commercial relations. 

• India-Belgium bilateral trade amounted to $10.92 billion in 2025-26. 

• Major Indian exports include precious metals and stones, chemicals, and base metals, while key imports are precious metals and stones, base metals, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. 

• Trade in diamonds is a significant component of bilateral trade.

• FDI inflows to India, from April 2000 to June 2025 amounted to $4.045 billion, positioning Belgium as the 18th largest contributor to India’s FDI.

• Several Indian companies, particularly in the IT and software sectors, such as TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL, etc have established base in Belgium to cater to the Belgian as well as European markets.

• According to the latest estimates, there are over 35,000 members of the Indian diaspora in Belgium.