Piyush Goyal holds ‘productive meeting’ with Princess Astrid of Belgium

India and Belgium – a member of the European Union – have decided to deepen their collaboration in defence, infrastructure and clean energy defence, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday, just days after his meeting with an EU delegation led by its trade chief Maros Sefcovic. The meeting took place a few days before the 10th India-EU free trade negotiations in Brussels from March 10-14.

“Held a productive meeting with HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE @PrevotMaxime, Minister of Defence & Foreign Trade, HE @FranckenTheo, and Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Government of Flanders, HE @MDiependaele, along with other officials,” Goyal said late night on Sunday in a post on X.

Princess Astrid of Belgium is leading an economic mission to India from March 1-8, 2025 and the team will be travelling to New Delhi and Mumbai “to strengthen Belgium’s image as an attractive partner and gateway to the European market”, according to an official communication.

Belgium is one of the six founding states of the European Union and hosts the EU and NATO.

“Princess Astrid is leading a Belgian economic mission to India, the world’s fifth largest economy, until 8 March. This mission will strengthen partnerships between Belgium and India in several key sectors,” the Belgian Royal Palace said.

“We discussed collaboration opportunities in key areas including trade, infrastructure, clean energy & defence to further deepen the India-Belgium bilateral partnership. Also, reaffirmed our commitment to fostering a transparent & investor-friendly environment for the shared growth and prosperity of both nations,” Goyal said. Princess Astrid is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and minister of external affairs S Jaishankar during her week-long visit.

Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh is also one of the focused investment destinations for the visiting delegation. The princess visited the Agristo factory in Bijnor, an Indo-Belgian venture that’s been producing potato derivatives since 2023. “The plant supports local farmers with modern farming techniques and processes around 25,000 tonnes of potatoes a year,” the Belgian Royal Palace said in a post on X.

The delegation also oversaw a ₹750 crore-expansion plan of Agristo Masa Pvt Ltd – an equal joint venture between Agristo NV of Belgium and Masa Global Foods of India. The JV has already seen investments worth ₹300 crore for the supply of value-added potato products to domestic and export markets.

“The Princess visits the Agristo factory in Bijnor, which has been producing potato derivatives since 2023. The plant supports local farmers with modern farming techniques and processes around 25,000 tonnes of potatoes a year,” Belgian Royal Palace said. The plant exports products to North America, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Japan.

As per government data, Belgium’s cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to India from April 2000 to March 2024 totalled at $2.89 billion. “Belgium is an important ally not only because of economic reasons but also strategically. It supports India’s aspiration for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),” said an Indian government official who did not wish to be named.

According to the official, Belgium was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India in September 1947. Besides, it is a key source of foreign direct investments. Around 160 Belgian companies are present in India and several Indian companies, such as TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL have established bases in the European country.