Finance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Tuesday with Belgian Princess Astrid, who is leading a high-level delegation to India from March 1 to 8. The Prime Minister welcomed Princess Astrid to India and praised her initiative in organizing a large group of over 300 people, including significant business executives, government officials, and representatives from many sectors.
This is Princess Astrid’s second Economic Mission to India, highlighting the importance of strong economic links between the two countries, which have been on the rise.
PM Modi and Princess Astrid discussed a wide range of topics, including commerce, investment, technology, defense, innovation, clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture, skill development, academic exchanges, and cultural and people-to-people linkages.
Both sides agreed to collaborate closely to identify new paths for cooperation across developing and high-impact industries, thereby strengthening economic resilience, fostering innovation-led growth, and deepening bilateral cooperation for the benefit of both nations’ peoples.
The tour will focus on businesses such as pharmaceuticals, logistics, aircraft, and renewable energy, according to an official release.
The Belgian Princess’ delegation is scheduled to meet with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and other high-level officials this week.
The country is now ranked 18th among Belgian export destinations. Around 200 Belgian enterprises operate in India.
According to a statement from the Belgian government, a symposium on water and waste management will bring Belgian and Indian partners together around cleantech, and the virtual inauguration of the Silox research and innovation centre is an excellent example of Belgian objectives in this field in India.
The building sector, like defense, is one of the economic mission’s top priorities. A lecture on this topic will look at future market trends and commercial prospects, as well as current practices and problems. Belgian and Indian businesses and organisations will share best practices and debate current technologies and advances.
The delegation includes representatives from 36 Brussels-based companies, with 61 participants, 30% of whom are women. On March 5, the India-Belgium Tech Forum will focus on strengthening technical collaborations.
Source: IANS
