Belgium's Princess Astrid Leads Economic Mission to India

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Belgium's Princess Astrid will lead a high-level Economic Mission to India beginning Saturday to significantly shore up bilateral cooperation in key areas of renewable energy, health and life sciences, transport and logistics.

Belgian Ambassador Didier Vanderhasselt said on Thursday that the focus of the Economic Mission would be to expand India-Belgium economic engagement in a raft of areas.

As many as 326 official representatives and industry experts, including from prominent Belgian companies, will join the mission.

It is going to be one of the biggest economic missions from Belgium, Vanderhasselt said.

The focus of the mission will be on climate and renewable energy, health and life sciences, construction and eco-construction, transport and logistics, space and defence and decarbonisation of steel, he told a small group of journalists.

The ambassador said 22 projects are expected to be finalised during the mission's visit to Delhi while 12 such initiatives are set to be firmed up in Mumbai.

The delegation will attend events in New Delhi from March 2 to 4 before moving to Mumbai.

Princess Astrid of Belgium is leading the mission as a representative of the King.

The mission will also look at the possibility of strengthening defence collaboration between Belgium and India.

Belgium, with its long-standing tradition of industrial innovation, positions itself as a key player in the defence sector, offering advanced technological solutions.

This expertise resonates in India, where strategic collaborations are developing to meet the growing defence needs, the envoy said.

The Belgian defence sector is rooted in a rich history of metallurgical and mechanical expertise, dating back to the early 20th century, he said.

Today, Belgium stands as a hub for high-tech defence solutions, with companies specialising in advanced weapon systems, aeronautical components and cutting-edge security technologies, he added.

The overall trajectory of India-Belgium ties witnessed steady expansion in the last few years.

The focus of the relations has traditionally been on trade and investment.

India is Belgium's 14th largest export destination and India is the 16th largest importer to Belgium.

India is Belgium's seventh-largest export destination outside the EU and the sixth-largest trade partner outside the EU.

Trade in diamonds dominates the bilateral trade.

In 2021 total bilateral trade between Belgium and India totalled Euro 12.22 billion.

Belgian imports from India in 2021 totalled Euro 6.07 billion. Belgian exports to India totalled Euro 6.15 billion.