Ø Belgian PM Bart De Wever says
India–EU FTA will strengthen trade, investment and economic resilience;
highlights Port of Antwerp-Bruges as key India–Europe link
Ø India and Belgium can deepen
cooperation in gems and jewellery, semiconductors, green hydrogen, defence and
advanced manufacturing, and agriculture and food processing
Ø India–EU FTA brings together a market
of 2 billion people, representing a quarter of global GDP and a third of world
trade
Ø India–EU trade has doubled in the
last decade to nearly USD 140 billion; Port of Antwerp-Bruges can serve as a
gateway for Indian exports into Europe
·
India–EU FTA creates a massive combined market of around 2
billion people, representing approximately one-fourth of global GDP,
one-third of world trade and a USD 24 trillion market.
·
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the
agreement will create significant opportunities for farmers, fishermen,
MSMEs, startups, innovators, women entrepreneurs, manufacturers and service
providers in India and Europe.
·
The FTA negotiations, which had been underway for
around 25 years, have been concluded, with all 27 EU member states
supporting the agreement and seeking its early implementation.
·
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the
FTA would strengthen trade, investment, workforce opportunities and economic
resilience, particularly amid global supply-chain disruptions.
·
More than 95% of Indian and European goods exports are
expected to benefit from tariff elimination or reduction, according to the
discussions highlighted at the dialogue.
·
India–EU bilateral trade has doubled over the past
decade to nearly USD 140 billion, providing a strong foundation for
further expansion under the FTA.
·
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges was highlighted as a
major gateway for Indian exports into Europe, offering strong connectivity
through rail, road, inland waterways and maritime infrastructure.
·
India and Belgium identified major cooperation
opportunities in:
o
Gems and jewellery,
including lab-grown diamonds
o
Semiconductors and microelectronics
o
Green hydrogen and green shipping
o
Defence and advanced manufacturing
o
Agriculture and food processing
o
Pharmaceuticals, maritime services and infrastructure
·
Belgium's technology and research capabilities could
complement India's manufacturing scale, skilled workforce and growing
innovation ecosystem, particularly in semiconductors and advanced
technologies.
·
Mr. Goyal highlighted India's expanding initiatives in
semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, nuclear energy,
space technology and R&D, inviting European and Belgian companies to
participate.
·
The Minister also called for greater cooperation in workforce
mobility, mutual recognition of qualifications, skill development and
dual-degree programmes.
·
Overall, the India–EU FTA was presented as an
opportunity for India and Europe to build more resilient supply chains,
strengthen economic partnerships and create new global business opportunities
amid increasing geopolitical and trade uncertainty.
[ABS News Service/05.09.2026]
Posted On: 04 SEP 2026 7:03PM by PIB
Delhi
Union Minister of Commerce and
Industry Piyush Goyal on 4 September, 2026 said that the India–European Union
(EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) opens huge opportunities for farmers,
fishermen, MSMEs, small industries, innovators, startups, women entrepreneurs,
manufacturers and service providers in India and Europe. Addressing the
India–Belgium High-Level Dialogue on the India–EU FTA in Mumbai, in the
presence of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium Mr. Bart De Wever and
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Goyal said the agreement had
been deftly negotiated while protecting sensitive sectors on both sides.
Mr. Goyal said the India–EU FTA,
which was in the making for 25 years before negotiations were concluded under
the leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, brings together 2 billion
people, representing a quarter of global GDP, a third of world trade and a
market of USD 24 trillion. He said all 27 EU countries were on board,
supportive and desirous of concluding the formalities and bringing the
agreement into force at the earliest. He noted that such unanimous support was,
as he understood, rare in the European context. Similarly, every section in
India had supported the India–EU FTA wholeheartedly.
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of
Belgium Mr. Bart De Wever said the India–EU FTA would strengthen trade and open
doors for companies, young talent and investment, while making the two
economies more resilient against disruptions. Highlighting the Port of
Antwerp-Bruges as an important logistical link between India and Europe, he
said the FTA would create opportunities in areas including diamonds, food
processing, pharmaceuticals, maritime services, green hydrogen and
infrastructure, and noted that tariffs on more than 95 per cent of Indian and
European goods exports would be scrapped or reduced.
The Union Minister said India and
Belgium have a significant opportunity to deepen economic cooperation as their
economies complement each other across five major areas. He said India and
Belgium could explore co-creation and design in gems and jewellery, including
lab-grown diamonds as a new area of cooperation. He called for greater
cooperation in technology and certification for mutual recognition, anchored
around the main diamond centres of Antwerp, Mumbai and Surat.
Mr. Goyal said Belgium’s world-class
micro-electronics research could be paired with India’s scale, skills and
talent to create a design-to-fabrication ecosystem in semiconductors. He said
India’s Green Hydrogen Mission could power Europe through Antwerp-Bruges’
bunkering and green shipping infrastructure and called for deeper collaboration
in this area.
Referring to the exchange of
Memoranda of Understanding with John Cockerill, Mr. Goyal said there was
significant potential for cooperation in defence and advanced manufacturing,
including counter-drone systems, electronic warfare, precision munitions and
Western export corridors for India-designed BrahMos and Pinaka missiles. He said
industrial alignment between India and Belgium had never run deeper. He also
noted that John Cockerill makes ammunition for India’s Bofors
guns. Given increased spending in Europe under the new conditions and India’s
own security environment, he said there was tremendous potential to work
together.
Mr. Goyal also highlighted
opportunities in agriculture and food processing, ranging from potato
processing and cold chains to other areas of food processing. He said
technology and sustainable agri-value chains could
serve the entire world through Belgium and India.
The Union Minister said Belgium
stands at the gateway of the opportunity created by the India–EU FTA. He noted
that the Port of Antwerp-Bruges is Europe’s second-largest seaport and
described it as the doorway through which the FTA’s promise would physically
arrive in Europe or be dispatched to India. He said that by seamlessly
combining Antwerp’s world-class inland barge, rail and road networks with
Bruges’ seabridges, deepwater, roll-on/roll-off and
automotive strengths, the port offers Indian exporters an unmatched route into
the industrial and consumer heartlands of Europe.
Mr. Goyal said India’s trade with the
EU had already doubled over the last decade to nearly USD 140 billion. He said
India and Belgium had a choice in the face of protectionism, broken supply
chains, problems in food and fuel delivery, two wars, volatility, uncertainty
and major challenges, to either be swept by the prevailing chaos or build
islands of trust and predictability.
Quoting Belgian Nobel laureate Ilya
Prigogine, Mr. Goyal referred to the idea of “order emerging out of chaos” and
said that under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Belgium and the Prime
Minister of India, “we choose to build, we choose to connect, we choose to work
together.”
Mr. Goyal highlighted India’s
expanding economic and technological capabilities and said that the Indian
story had just begun. He noted that India is a USD 4 trillion economy today on
a purchasing power parity basis and is already the world’s third-largest economy
with a USD 20 trillion GDP on a PPP basis. He said the stated goal and
collective commitment of 1.4 billion Indians was to take the USD 4 trillion
economy to a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, when India celebrates 100 years
of independence.
He said the roadmap had been made and
the collective effort underway in India covered social upliftment,
infrastructure creation, manufacturing at scale and creating a destination for
global companies to come and work in India, design, co-design, co-create and
co-manufacture. He said India and its partners could collectively work not only
for Europe and India, but for the world as their market.
Mr. Goyal highlighted India’s massive
programme to promote the semiconductor industry. He said the first edition of Semicon India had been fully subscribed, with investors
from around the world, while the second edition, Semicon
India 2.0, had recently been launched with an outlay of USD 14 billion.
Collectively, he said, the mission would catalyse nearly USD 70 billion worth
of investments in the semiconductor space in India.
He said India’s AI Mission was up and
running and serving startups, while the country was also active in its Critical
Minerals Mission. He said India’s nuclear energy programme, through the Shanti
Act, was now open to the private sector after 60 years, with a plan to build
100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity over the next 20 years as baseload
capacity to replace fossil fuel.
Mr. Goyal said India’s space
technology sector, currently at USD 8.5 billion, was expected to grow to USD 44
billion over the next eight years, largely driven by new private initiatives,
startups, innovators and designers developing unique solutions. He said India
had become only the third country in the world where a private company had
launched a rocket into space and the first country where a private initiative
had been successful on its very first attempt.
He also highlighted India’s recently
launched USD 12 billion research and development fund for innovation. He said
that, while USD 12 billion might appear modest from the European context,
India’s purchasing power parity strength meant that the government’s
contribution, coupled with private-sector investment and the capabilities of
India’s academia, could collectively deliver the equivalent of USD 150 billion
of innovation compared to what could be achieved in Europe, at a fraction of
the cost and comparable to the best in the world.
Mr. Goyal invited Belgium and the
European Union to partner with India, saying that Belgium’s technology,
innovation and capital could find a nest in India with its scale, talent,
youthful energy, young population and decisive leadership.
The Union Minister said Maharashtra
offered a very inviting place for business, describing it as India’s financial
and commercial capital, its industrial capital and the fastest-growing economy
in the country.
Mr. Goyal invited Prime Minister De
Wever and Belgian companies to engage with India with an open mind and open
heart, supported by all the facilities required by modern industry. He said
that underpinning all these opportunities were people, including the Indian
community, students and researchers.
The Union Minister called for
strengthening workforce mobility, mutual recognition of qualifications, joint
skills development and dual-degree education programmes, particularly in
sectors where Belgium faces a shortage of talent and youth.
Mr. Goyal said India and Belgium
share a very warm and enduring relationship dating back to 1947, when India
gained independence. He noted that Belgium was one of the first European
countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India and said India
would always be grateful to the Belgian people for the gesture.
The Union Minister thanked Prime
Minister De Wever for his leadership, support and relentless pursuit of
strengthening Belgium–India and EU–India relations, which had helped culminate
a journey of 25 years.
Mr. Goyal said that during his recent
visit to Belgium, referred to during the programme, the real energy he felt was
in Belgian enterprises. He said Belgium and India, together, could create an
“absolutely unbeatable competition” by combining Belgian technology, innovation
and capital with India’s scale, talent, youthful energy, young population and
decisive leadership.
Concluding his address, Mr. Goyal
drew an analogy with the formation of a diamond. He said a diamond is formed
under tremendous pressure, deep under the ground, while lab-grown diamonds are
formed through relentless processes involving carbon deposits. He said that in
a world under pressure and turmoil, India and Belgium could form something
equally enduring, beautiful and precious as a diamond.
“Let India and Belgium form something
just as enduring, just as beautiful and precious as a diamond. A diamond not
only for Belgium and India, a diamond not only for Europe, a diamond for the
world,” Mr. Goyal said.