New Delhi: India and Belgium gave bilateral partnership a fresh strategic impetus on September 3, Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with visiting Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. The high-level discussions focused on strengthening defence, trade, investment, technology, clean energy and critical minerals partnership.
The visit, was the first by a Belgian Prime Minister to India in two decades. On the sidelines of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi & his Belgium counterpart, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also held discussions with Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken, with both sides calling for deeper defence-industrial cooperation and greater collaboration between their companies.
Sharing my remarks during the joint press meet with PM Bart De Wever of Belgium.@Bart_DeWever
https://t.co/5cSS2AR6oD— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 3, 2026
PM Modi, PM De Wever agree to deepen strategic partnership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Belgium PM Bart De Wever at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, where the two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of India-Belgium relations and exchanged views on regional and global developments. The discussions covered defence and security, trade and investment, innovation, semiconductors, fintech, critical minerals, renewable energy, connectivity, academic cooperation and people-to-people ties.
Earlier in the day, PM De Wever paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Ministry of External Affairs said that the gesture by Belgium Prime Minister reflected the shared values of peace, non-violence and human dignity that underpin India-Belgium ties.
We will also strengthen university and research links, StartUp connections and pathways for talent mobility.
India and Belgium are natural partners, united by democratic values, strong people-to-people ties and a shared commitment to peace and progress. pic.twitter.com/wavSBtfyt8
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 3, 2026
India, Belgium target to double bilateral trade in 5 years
A key outcome of the PM Modi-PM De Wever talks was the decision to work towards doubling bilateral trade over the next five years. PM Modi said that India and Belgium would establish an Investment Fast-Track Mechanism to facilitate Belgian investments in India. The two sides will also make the India-Belgium Business Forum a regular mechanism and strengthen coordination among financial, fintech and regulatory institutions.
The Prime Minister linked the renewed economic push between India & Belgium to the recently concluded India-European Union Free Trade Agreement(India-EU FTA), saying the landmark pact would create new opportunities and contribute to bilateral and regional stability, growth and shared prosperity.
Belgian Prime Minister De Wever described India as an increasingly important partner, calling it the world’s largest democracy, a major economic and technological powerhouse and an increasingly influential geopolitical actor.
He highlighted the complementary strengths of the two economies, saying India brings scale, talent and ambition, while Belgium can contribute technology, specialisation, experience and access to European markets.
India-Belgium ties are entering an ambitious new phase.
Today, during the talks with PM Bart De Wever, we agreed to deepen cooperation across trade, defence, clean energy, critical minerals, semiconductors, research and talent mobility.
We have also established an Investment… pic.twitter.com/BtMxqWyy3S
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 3, 2026
Defence, security cooperation to expand
Defence and security emerged as a major pillar of the renewed India-Belgium partnership. PM Modi said that India and Belgium had agreed to enhance military exchanges and training cooperation. Agreements between governments and defence industries are also expected to open opportunities for defence co-development and co-production.
The two sides further agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing and cooperation against crime between their respective agencies. PM Modi pointed to existing industrial cooperation, including projects involving advanced defence platforms such as the Zorawar light tank, as an indication of the potential for deeper collaboration between Indian and Belgian defence ecosystems.
The Prime Minister also emphasised that India and Belgium share democratic values, market-oriented economies and strong people-to-people links, making them “natural partners” in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
Had a very productive meeting with the Defence and Trade Minister of Belgium, Mr @FranckenTheo in New Delhi today.
We reviewed the entire spectrum of Defence relations and Defence Industrial Cooperation between India and Belgium. Multiple MoUs and contracts under the Defence… pic.twitter.com/Rlzyv1iq9l
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 3, 2026
Clean energy, critical minerals & semiconductors add mileage to bilateral ties
Beyond defence and trade, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in emerging strategic technologies and clean energy. A new renewable-energy MoU is expected to provide fresh momentum to bilateral cooperation on sustainability. India and Belgium will also enhance collaboration in the processing and recycling of critical minerals, an area increasingly important for clean-energy technologies and resilient global supply chains.
Semiconductors were another important focus. PM Modi said Belgium’s expertise in semiconductor technology and India’s scale could complement each other, with both sides working towards integrating Belgium’s IMEC Institute with India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
The two countries also planned to strengthen cooperation between startups, universities and research institutions.
List of outcomes (10 in total) : PM @narendramodi’s meeting with PM @Bart_DeWever of Belgium during his Official Visit to India ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Twar8llRep
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 3, 2026
PM Modi calls for peace & diplomacy amid West Asia & Ukraine conflict
The two leaders also discussed major regional and global conflicts. PM Modi said India and Belgium support efforts for the early resolution of conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia and emphasised dialogue, diplomacy and the rule of law as the way forward. PM Modi also stressed that combating terrorism in all its forms remains a shared commitment.
Against the backdrop of geopolitical instability, PM Modi highlighted the resilience of the Indian economy, noting that India recorded 7.8 per cent growth in the last quarter. He said India’s growth trajectory was becoming a source of confidence and new opportunities for the global economy.
Rajnath Singh, Belgian Defence Minister push defence-industrial partnership
The strategic momentum for bilateral partnership was reinforced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken in New Delhi. Rajnath Singh called for greater defence cooperation between the two countries and said India and Belgium had considerable potential to expand their partnership at a time of major geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
“The world is witnessing a time of great geopolitical and economic turmoil,” Rajnath Singh said, underlining the importance of exchanging perspectives with partners such as Belgium to address emerging challenges. He noted that the recently held India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue had created a framework for advancing bilateral cooperation in defence and security.
The Defence Minister particularly stressed the need to deepen engagement between Indian and Belgian defence companies. “We welcome greater cooperation with Belgian and Indian defence companies”, Rajnath Singh said, expressing confidence that the discussions would provide strategic direction to bilateral defence engagement.
Multiple MoUs and contracts related to defence industrial cooperation were also signed during the engagements, aimed at leveraging Belgian technology with India’s skills and manufacturing scale to foster national and regional security.
Belgium seeks deeper strategic role in India-EU partnership
Belgium Defence Minister Francken, who is accompanying Prime Minister De Wever along with a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders, including representatives from Belgium’s defence industry, also praised India’s technological capabilities and called for a deeper partnership.
The Belgian delegation’s composition underlines the growing focus on translating political ties into industrial and commercial partnerships. The visit builds on the momentum generated by the Belgian Economic Mission led by Princess Astrid in March 2025. The mission brought together 338 participants from companies, chambers of commerce, academia and public institutions and resulted in 38 MoUs.
After completing his New Delhi engagements, Prime Minister De Wever is scheduled to travel to Mumbai on September 4, Friday, where he will interact with stakeholders from the diamond, ports and logistics sectors.
