External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday co-chaired the inaugural India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue with Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot in Brussels, reviewing the expanding bilateral partnership and exploring new avenues of cooperation in key strategic sectors.
Sharing details of the meeting in a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said India and Belgium’s partnership has witnessed significant deepening in recent years and that the inaugural Strategic Dialogue reflected the growing ambition of ties between the two countries as well as between India and the European Union.
The two leaders reviewed cooperation across a wide range of areas, including political engagement, economic relations, investments, clean energy, defence, mobility and pharmaceuticals. They also discussed opportunities to strengthen collaboration in ports, maritime connectivity and the semiconductor sector, while exploring broader cooperation to build resilient and diversified global supply chains.
The discussions also covered regional and global developments, with both sides exchanging views on the evolving situation in West Asia.
During his visit to Brussels, EAM Jaishankar also met European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela to discuss expanding cooperation in connectivity initiatives, trilateral partnerships, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and green shipping.
In a separate meeting, the External Affairs Minister held talks with European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva. The discussions focused on enhancing collaboration in research on clean and green energy technologies, strengthening innovation ecosystems, promoting startup partnerships and advancing India’s association with the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
