Belgian PM Bart De Wever Arrives in India for September 2-4 Official Visit

Key facts

• Belgian PM Bart De Wever arrived in India for a three-day official visit from September 2 to September 4 at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi.
• The visit aims to strengthen bilateral ties and expand cooperation in trade, investment, defence, technology, and connectivity.
• De Wever was welcomed by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth.
• This is De Wever's first visit to India as Belgian PM and the first by a Belgian PM in two decades.
• He is accompanied by Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, Theo Francken, and a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders, including representatives from the Belgian defence industry.
• On September 3, De Wever will hold bilateral talks with PM Modi to discuss India-Belgium relations and regional and global issues.
• De Wever will deliver a keynote address at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) business event on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement.
• On September 4, he will travel to Mumbai to engage with stakeholders from sectors including diamonds, ports, and logistics.
• The visit follows the Belgian Economic Mission led by Princess Astrid in March 2025, which resulted in 38 MoUs.
• It also follows the inaugural India-Belgium Ministerial-level Strategic Dialogue held in Brussels on July 15, 2026.
• India and Belgium share historical ties spanning more than three centuries, and bilateral trade reached USD 13.01 billion in 2025-26.
• Diamond trade remains a major component of bilateral commerce, with Antwerp serving as a global diamond hub.
• Belgium is an important source of investment in India, with FDI inflows amounting to approximately USD 4.2 billion between April 2000 and December 2025.
• The two countries are seeking to expand cooperation in defence and security, technology and innovation, renewable energy, connectivity, ports and maritime cooperation, and people-to-people ties.
• In March 2023, one of the world's largest liquid mirror telescopes was inaugurated at ARIES in Nainital, built with involvement of Belgian space company AMOS.
• Belgian company John Cockerill is building a major electrolyser production facility in Kakinada with an expected capacity of 2 GW.
• An MoU between India's Ministry of Shipping and the Antwerp Port Authority facilitates training for Indian port officials.
• Defence cooperation has emerged as a newer dimension of bilateral ties, with Belgium appointing a Defence Attache in New Delhi.
• Belgium supports India's candidature for permanent membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council.
• Around 1,131 Indian students are currently studying in Belgium.
• Statues and busts of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in Antwerp and Leuven reflect cultural ties.
• More than 9,000 Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives in Flanders during the First World War.