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 INDO- BELGIAN RELATIONS

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Country comparison

 India  Belgium

Population 1,193,340,000 11,007,020

Area 3,287,240 km2 (1,269,210 sq mi) 30,528 km2

Population Density 356/km² (922/sq mi) 354.7 km2

Capital New Delhi Brussels

Largest City Mumbai  Brussels 

Government Federal parliamentary constitutional republic Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Official languages

Hindi and English, 21 other constitutionally recognized languages

Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official minority languages are spoken as well

Main religions

80% Hinduism, 13.4% Islam, 2.3% Christianity, 1.9% Sikhism, 0.8% Buddhism, 0.4%Jainism

Roman Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium's majority religion, However, there are around 42,000 Jews in Belgium

GDP (nominal) $1.430 trillion ($1,124 per capita) $413.281 billion ($37,736 per capital)

Military expenditures $37.6 billion (FY 2011-12)  € 3.0 billion ((FY 2009) 

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History

• Diplomatic relations between India and Belgium were established in 1948 and our

• Bilateral relations are cordial and friendly. In recent times, Belgium has acknowledged the growing importance of Asia and has emphasized the value of strengthening economic relations with India.

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Recent Relations

Recent high level to India include visit by Crown Prince Philippe (March 20-27, 2010) leading a 350 plus member economic mission; visit by the The King of the Belgians, Albert II visited India from 3-12 November 08 accompanied by Queen Paola, the then Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and a sizeable academic and business delegation; and visit by the then Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (BPM) from 2-7 November 2006.

Visits at high level from India in recent times include a visit by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Brussels from 9-11 December 2010, which was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister since 1978; visit by Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari to Brussels from 3-5 October 2010 to attend the ASEM 8 Summit during which he briefly interacted with the King of Belgium and held a bilateral meeting with

.

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Recent Relations

Prime Minister Yves Leterme; visit by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to Belgium from 10-12 November 2006 to inaugurate the TEJAS Exhibition, the central theme of the festival of India (October 2006 – January 2007). Several Ministerial and official level visits have also taken place on both sides during recent times.

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Bilateral Treaties and Agreements:

The agreements signed and in force between India and Belgium are as under: Social Security Agreement in November 2006 (came into force in September 2009); Agreement on cooperation in the field of Science & Technology,

November 2006; Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTAA) – August 1997; Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) signed between India and BLEU in

November 1997; Cultural Agreement- September, 1973; and Air Services Agreement- April, 1967.

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Economic Relations

Belgium has emerged as one of India’s important trading partners in the EU. Trade in gems and jewellery constitutes over 75% of the bilateral trade.

India’s IT sector is well represented in Belgium, with all the big IT companies having their establishments. Several Indian companies in the chemicals sector have also established offices/warehousing facilities in Belgium, particularly near the port city of Antwerp.

A cumulative figure of FDI inflows from Belgium into India amounts to US

$ 327.84 million from April 2000 to April 2010.

Belgian business interests in India cover energy, ports, dredging, construction, banking and finance, electronics and software, chemicals and fertilizers, solar energy and biotechnology.

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Belgium -India Trade (US$: billion)

Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Trade from India to Belgium

2.2 2.1 2.2 2.6 3.2 4.1 4.1 7.9

Trade from Belgium to India

1.9 1.9 2.4 3.0 3.5 4.5 6.1 5.2

Belgian private-sector's interest in India is rising, and, currently, about 627 Belgian companies have branches in India. (The figure doubled over the last 3 years.)

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Direct Investment from Japan (Yen: billion)

Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Direct Investment from Belgiium

18.4 18.7 14.6 15.0 29.8 59.7 178.2 542.9

(Source: Japanese government documents)

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Cultural Relations

To commemorate the memory sacrifices made by thousands of Indian soldiers in Flanders during World War I, an Indian Memorial Pillar which was installed along side the Menin Gate in Ieper was re-built and re-installed at the same site in 2010. The local authorities organize ceremonies at this pillar along side the main Armistice Day celebrations on November 10/11 every year. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in association with the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) organized an India Festival from October 2006- January 2007. The festival included, inter alia, art, theatre, musical and dance performances, fashion shows and a food festival. India has also agreed to be part of the Europalia cultural festival in Belgium in 2013-14.

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Number of Residents

Indian Community in Belgium- According to the information received from the local Government the total number of Indians upto 2006 were around 16,132 out of which 10,000 Indian nationals have obtained Belgian citizenship and remaining 6000 are involved in various economic activities. Around 2,500 Indian NRIs/PIOs, based in Antwerp mainly fromGujarat are involved in diamond trade. The proposal for dual nationality for Belgian PIOs/NRIs has been agreed to by GOI. There are around 500-1000 Indian students pursuing studies in educational institutions of Belgium.

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Economics

Economic Joint Commission Meeting – The Economic JCM

between India and

Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) met in Brussels

on May 4-5, 2009 after a gap of eight years. More recently, the

12th JCM took place in New Delhi on 15 April 2011 where both

sides discussed market access issues, cooperation in civil

aviation and aerospace sector, renewable energy sector, IT

sector, recognition of certificate of competency of sailors, interest

of Belgian businesses in the infrastructure sector, and progress in

the revision of DTAA.

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Science & Technology Cooperation

A framework agreement for cooperation in Science and Technology was signed during the visit of Belgian PM to India in November 2006. Under this agreement, an India-Belgium Joint Committee on S&T has been set up that has met twice, first from 25-27 June 2007 in Brussels and second on 13 April in New Delhi.

At the second meeting, Progress in cooperation was noted in the field of astronomy where a DOT 3.6m telescope being built in Nainital with Belgian assistance and expected to be operational in November 2012. Measures to encourage networking of research groups and to identify areas of mutual interest in the field of research were identified. Joint workshops are also proposed to be organized, commencing 2012, to facilitate information exchange between scientific communities on both sides.

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Science & Technology Cooperation

India and Belgium also have an MOU on cooperation in space technology which was signed between the two sides in November 1998. A Belgian satellite was also launched by India in 2001. 

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Global FDI Confidence Index 2008

Source: AT Kearney

Tally of Countries attracting FDI

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Global Tally of Return on Equity

Return on Equity (%)

Source : JP Morgan

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Growth in FDIs in India

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Sector wise FDI Growth

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FDI – Country wise

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Belgian Investment in India

• Belgium 4th largest investor : US$ 2.18 billion (November2007) – US$ 168 million in 2005– US$ 104 million in 2006 (Jan -Sept)

• Top sectors – Transportation (55%), Electrical Equipment (7%),

• About 350 Belgian companies present in India.• Belgium Global Investments

– US$31 billion in 2004 – US$46 billion in 2005

• Belgium cell set up in to facilitate establishment and operation of Belgian investments.

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Belgian Companies in India

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