Mumbai: The India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will open up major opportunities for farmers, fishermen, MSMEs, startups, innovators, manufacturers and service providers in both India and Europe, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
Addressing the India-Belgium High-Level Dialogue on the FTA in Mumbai in the presence of Belgian PM Bart De Wever and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Goyal said the agreement had been negotiated while protecting sensitive sectors on both sides.
Goyal said the FTA, negotiated over 25 years, would bring together a market of around two billion people, accounting for nearly a quarter of global GDP and a third of world trade. He said all 27 EU member states were supportive of completing the formalities and bringing the agreement into force at the earliest.
De Wever said the FTA would boost trade, investment and economic resilience while creating opportunities for companies and young talent. He highlighted the Port of Antwerp-Bruges as a key logistical link between India and Europe and said tariffs on more than 95% of goods exports would be scrapped or reduced.
India-Belgium cooperation
Goyal identified gems and jewellery, semiconductors, green hydrogen, defence and advanced manufacturing, agriculture and food processing as key areas for deeper India-Belgium cooperation.
He proposed greater collaboration between Antwerp, Mumbai and Surat in diamonds, including lab-grown diamonds, and called for cooperation in technology, certification and mutual recognition.
He also said Belgium’s micro-electronics capabilities could be combined with India’s scale and talent to build a semiconductor design-to-fabrication ecosystem.
On green hydrogen, Goyal said India’s Green Hydrogen Mission could complement Antwerp-Bruges’ green shipping and bunkering infrastructure.
He also pointed to potential cooperation with Belgian firm John Cockerill in defence and advanced manufacturing, including counter-drone systems, electronic warfare and precision munitions.
Antwerp as gateway to Europe
Describing Belgium as a gateway to the opportunities created by the India-EU FTA, Goyal said the Port of Antwerp-Bruges could provide Indian exporters access to Europe’s major industrial and consumer markets through its integrated sea, rail, road and inland-waterway networks.
India-EU trade has doubled over the past decade to nearly $140 billion, he said.
Goyal said India and Belgium could respond to protectionism, supply-chain disruptions and global uncertainty by building greater trust and predictability in trade and investment.
He invited Belgian and European companies to partner with India, combining Belgian technology, innovation and capital with India’s scale, talent and young workforce.
The minister also highlighted India’s expanding semiconductor, AI, critical minerals, nuclear energy and space sectors, and called for stronger workforce mobility, recognition of qualifications, joint skills development and dual-degree programmes.
Goyal said India and Belgium could build a partnership that would benefit not just the two countries and Europe but the wider global economy.
