Belgium–India relations are the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Belgium. India's Embassy in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

was opened in 1948. Belgium's embassy in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

was opened in 1947. Its current complex, built in 1984, is an architectural marvel designed by

Satish Gujral Satish Gujral (25 December 1925 – 26 March 2020) was an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist and writer of the post-independent era. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, in 1999. His el ...

. Belgium being India's eight largest trading partner as of 2009, accounting for trade of nearly ₹ 41,552 crore. India and Belgium share the common value of "democracy, pluralism and rule of law" and Belgium has supported the G4 nations. The former deputy Prime Minister of Belgium

Steven Vanackere Steven Vanackere, (, born on 4 February 1964 in Wevelgem) is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He held the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Foreign Aff ...

had said that "slowly but surely" India was getting its "rightful place in global governance". He reiterated that Belgium "unequivocally" reconfirmed its support for India's bid for a permanent seat in the enlarged

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

Bilateral trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Belgian PM Charles Michel

India and Belgium have strong trading links, with India being the second largest importer of and fifth largest exporter to Belgian products. In 2008, The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

spoke about how Belgium and India were "partners in a globalised world". In November 2017, King Phillipe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visited India for seven days. There are many Indian diamond merchants from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

in Antwerp.

Diplomatic missions

Apart from the

Embassy of Belgium, New Delhi The Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi is the diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of Belgium to India. The embassy is located in Shantipath, Chanakyapuri. The Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi covers the services for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, th ...

, The Belgian Government has further opened two Consulates-General and two Honorary Consulates: in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and Ahmedabad. The Mumbai Consulate General is located at Bandra-Kurla Complex, the Chennai Consulate General at Khader Nawaz Khan Road -

Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...

, the Kolkata Honorary Consulate at

Camac Street Abanindranath Thakur Sarani (renamed from ''Camac Street'') is a street running in the central business district of Kolkata, India, from Park Street (Allen Park) to Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road (Nizam Palace). The road was named after ...

( Abanindranath Thakur Sarani ), while the latest one, opened on April 26, 2017, is at

GIFT City Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is central business district under-construction in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad in Gandhinagar district in Gujarat, India. It is India's first operational greenfield smart city and internatio ...

, Ahmedabad. Opening the Honorary Consulate made Belgium the first country to do so at India's first International Financial Services Centre(IFSC). The Embassy of India, Brussels is located at Chaussee de Vleurgat 217, 1050

, Belgium. India also has its honorary consulates in Antwerp (Belgium) and

Capellen Capellen ( lb, Cap/Capellen ) is a town in the commune of Mamer, in south-western Luxembourg, 12 km west of Luxembourg City. , the town has a population of 1,336. Despite not having a commune named after it, Capellen lends its name to the ...

(

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgium-India relations

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bilateral relations of India