India, Belgium, and Luxembourg have agreed to bolster economic ties and explore avenues to enhance collaboration in aerospace, research, innovation, and higher education, according to a statement issued by the Commerce Ministry on Friday.
The 19th meeting of the India-Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) Joint Economic Commission (JEC) took place in Luxembourg. The gathering served as an opportunity for India, Belgium, and Luxembourg to assess their trade and investment ties and explore ways to enhance economic collaboration in important areas, the statement noted.
The JEC was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, the Commerce Secretary; Filip Vanden Bulcke, the Director-General for Geo-Economy and Economic Diplomacy at the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; and Henri Schumacher, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg.
The conversations addressed a wide array of key sectors, such as logistics, emphasizing air connectivity and ports, renewable energy and clean technology, financial services and FinTech, digital transformation and information and communication technology (ICT), healthcare and life sciences, Ayurveda and traditional medicine, along with the agro and food processing sector.
The meeting resolved to explore prospects for enhancing collaboration in aerospace, research and innovation, higher education, and skills development.
Market-oriented topics were examined to tackle trade concerns, enhance market entry, and highlight opportunities to bolster economic connections.
The JEC offered a chance for the three parties to share perspectives on their economic goals, assess sectoral collaboration, and explore ways to improve business involvement and investment cooperation.
The conversations reinforced the significance of ongoing dialogue and collaboration in enhancing mutually advantageous economic ties among India, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Post the JEC session, Rajesh Agrawal engaged with CEOs from companies based in Luxembourg.
He emphasised India’s robust economic growth and investment opportunities while stressing the potential for cooperation in financial services, advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy, digital technologies, healthcare, and research and innovation.
He urged companies in Luxembourg to seek long-term investments, form technology partnerships, and find ways to collaborate with Indian businesses to participate in global value chains, the statement mentioned.
