Belgium Minister's visit will boost trade ties

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, JAN. 6.The visit of Belgium's Secretary of State for Finance, Budget and Foreign Affairs, Ms. Neyts-uyttebroeck, to India under the auspices of India-BLEU (Belgium, Luxembourg Economic Union) Joint Commission will go a long way in furthering consolidating India's trade and economic relations.

Luxembourg will be represented by Ms. Polfer, who is Deputy Prime Minister. Accompanied by senior officials and business representatives, both Ministers arrived in New Delhi on Saturday and will commence talks with senior Ministers and officials there on Monday.

On eve of the visit, Ms. Neyts-uyttebroeck said that the joint commission's discussions in India would strengthen bilateral and trade and economic relations. She will discuss preparations for the European Union-India summit scheduled for November 2. Belgium assumes the six-monthly rotating presidency of the European Union from Sweden at the end of June.

Ms. Neyts-uyttebroeck said the summit's importance ``cannot be underestimated'' in the multi-polar world, in the background of shared Indo-European civic values of multi-party democracy based on the rule of law and principles of free market economy, where ``India is seen as major global player''.

The European Government officials are particularly keen on assessing India's response to the initiatives and perceptions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The India-BLEU representatives will have an opportunity to assess the views of the Indian rank and file on WTO matters at the Confederation of Indian Industry's Conference in Hyderabad.

The economic joint commission will explore financial co-operation in matters of export insurance, double taxation and promotion of investment treaty. The Indo-EU trade issues and consular matters will also be reviewed.

Belgium's current investment in India hovers around the $200- million mark. Around 100 small and medium Belgium companies have active collaboration with their Indian counterparts. Belgium companies are particularly interested in the development of ports in Andhra Pradesh and on exploring prospects of collaboration with Indian companies in special metals, engineering, electronic software and chemical manufacturing and engineering.

Over 80 per cent of India's bilateral trade with Belgium is dominated by diamond trade, which is controlled by around 300 Gujarati families based in Antwerp. Indian traders account for nearly 50 per cent of the diamond trade in Antwerp, which is the world's second largest centre of trade in raw diamonds after New York. It is estimated that 60 per cent of the world's rough diamonds are traded in Antwerp.

India is Belgium's most important trading partner in Asia, mainly because of the trade in raw diamonds and precious stones, which now accounts for over 80 per cent of Indo-Belgium trade. Belgium authorities want to diversify the country's exports to India and according to Ms. Neyts-uyttebroeck, the balance of non-diamond trade is in India's favour. The joint commission this year will focus on developing joint collaborations with Indian firms in manufacture of metals, chemicals and engineering goods.

Compared with the European Union trade, India's share of European trade is still minimal and smaller countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand individually export more than what India does. Indian exports to the European Union have grown the fastest in chemicals, marine products, granites and engineering products, according to figures released by the European Statistical Organisation.

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Section  : International
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