Mumbai, Sep 5 (NVI) The Free Trade Agreement signed between India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) will open opportunities across manufacturing, services, agriculture, technology and investment, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.
He said the agreement had been negotiated while protecting sensitive sectors in both markets.
The trade pact, which took 25 years to conclude, brings together a market of around USD 24 trillion and 2 billion people, the minister said.
All 27 EU member states were supportive of completing the formalities and bringing the agreement into force at the earliest, he added.
Goyal was addressing the India-Belgium High-Level Dialogue on the India-EU FTA in Mumbai alongside Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
De Wever, whose country is a member of the EU, said the agreement would strengthen trade and investment ties while making the two economies more resilient to supply-chain disruptions.
More than 95 per cent of Indian and European goods exports would see tariffs eliminated or reduced under the pact, he said.
The deal could boost cooperation in diamonds, food processing, pharmaceuticals, maritime services, green hydrogen and infrastructure, De Wever said, highlighting the Port of Antwerp-Bruges as a key logistical gateway between India and Europe.
Goyal said India’s trade with the EU has nearly doubled over the past decade to around USD 140 billion.
The minister also outlined several areas where India and Belgium could expand cooperation, including semiconductor manufacturing, defence and advanced manufacturing, green hydrogen, agriculture and food processing.
Belgium’s expertise in microelectronics research could be combined with India’s manufacturing scale and talent to develop a design-to-fabrication semiconductor ecosystem, Goyal said.
He also pointed to potential collaboration with Belgian engineering company John Cockerill in areas including counter-drone systems, electronic warfare and precision munitions. The two sides recently exchanged memoranda of understanding, he said.
In the gems and jewellery sector, Goyal proposed greater cooperation between the diamond centres of Antwerp, Mumbai and Surat, including in lab-grown diamonds and certification.
He also said India and Belgium could work together on green hydrogen, with India’s production capabilities potentially linked to Antwerp-Bruges’ bunkering and green-shipping infrastructure.
Goyal said cooperation in agriculture and food processing could cover potato processing, cold chains and sustainable agri-value chains.
The minister also used the event to highlight India’s growing technology and manufacturing ambitions, including its semiconductor, artificial intelligence, space and nuclear energy programmes.
India’s second semiconductor programme, Semicon India 2.0, has an outlay of USD 14 billion and is expected to catalyse nearly USD 70 billion in investment in the sector, Goyal said.
He said India’s space economy, currently valued at about USD 8.5 billion, could reach USD 44 billion over the next eight years, driven by private companies and startups.
India has also opened its nuclear power sector to private participation and plans to build 100 gigawatts of nuclear capacity over the next two decades, he said.
Goyal called for greater workforce mobility between India and Belgium, mutual recognition of qualifications, joint skills development and dual-degree programmes, particularly in sectors facing talent shortages in Belgium.
He said India and Belgium should use the current period of geopolitical and supply-chain uncertainty to build more predictable economic ties.
“India and Belgium, together, can create an absolutely unbeatable competition,” Goyal said, referring to the combination of Belgian technology, innovation and capital with India’s scale, talent and workforce.
The minister said Belgium could serve as a gateway for Indian businesses seeking access to European markets, with Antwerp-Bruges providing road, rail, inland waterway and deepwater connectivity into the continent.
He invited Belgian companies to expand their presence in India, saying the country offered scale, a young workforce and an expanding industrial and technology ecosystem. (NVI)
