Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Princess Astrid of Belgium, in New Delhi on Tuesday | Photo Credit: ANI
Europe needs to develop its own “strategic autonomy”, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said on Tuesday (March 4, 2025), speaking about the United States’ decision to change its course on the Ukraine war. As a result, Belgium will need to build its defence sector, Mr. Prevot said, pushing for cooperation with India.
He was speaking after the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Belgian Royal Princess Astrid, who led a delegation of more than 300 Belgian business leaders on an “economic mission” to India. Addressing the media along with Mr. Prevot, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said that India and Belgium will sign an MoU on defence cooperation by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, New Delhi, which has been engaging all sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, will send Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to Moscow this week for Foreign Office consultations. Mr. Misri is also expected to prepare for a high-level meeting between Mr. Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin this year, with Mr. Putin due to visit India for the annual summit, and the PM invited to attend Russia’s 80th Victory Day or ‘Pobyeda’ celebrations in Moscow on May 9.
Situation in flux
The high-powered Belgian delegation’s visit comes amidst turmoil in Europe over the changed U.S. stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, and reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is ceasing all aid to Kiev after his showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House on Friday (February 28, 2025). The Belgian visit follows last week’s visit by European Union Commissioners led by EC President Ursula Von der Leyen, and comes two days before an extraordinary summit of the European Union to be held in Brussels on Thursday March 6, 2025), where members are expected to chart their future course.
“The situation has changed from a couple of weeks ago, so we need to be flexible and united… That’s the message that we are disseminating in the European Union. So it means that we need to develop our own strategic autonomy, certainly regarding the defence sector,” Mr. Prevot said, in response to a question from The Hindu.
‘India can be strong support’
“Belgium stands by Ukraine, we are with the Ukrainian people. There is an aggressor, and there is a victim [in this conflict]. It is not acceptable that some parts of the world try to put those two countries on the same footing,” Mr. Prevot said, adding that the U.S. and Belgium would, however, remain “strong allies”.
Mr. Prevot said that while the Belgians had not discussed the Ukraine issue with Mr. Modi when they met on Tuesday (March 4, 2025), he was “aware of the concerns of Europe”, and that Europe — and Belgium in particular — hopes India can be a “strong support” in the development of military capabilities, with Belgian companies offering to provide defence technologies to “make in India”.
Defence cooperation
As part of overall efforts to scale up defence cooperation with India, Belgium will post a Defence Attache in India and the two countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation by the end of 2025, Mr. Francken said.
In a related development, Belgium’s John Cockerill Defence (JCD) and Pune-based Electro Pneumatics & Hydraulics (EPH) Pvt. Ltd. announced a joint venture to manufacture tank turrets in India, with an initial focus on the Indian Army’s ongoing light tank contest. They have already joined hands to supply turrets for Zorawar, the light tank developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Larsen & Toubro, which is currently at an advanced trial stage.
The MoUs in the defence sector were among 24 MoUs signed with the Belgian delegation in the fields of food processing, health, engineering, and education.
Diamond sanctions
For nearly a year now, India has also been raising concerns over the impact of sanctions by G-7 countries on raw diamonds being sent to India via Antwerp for processing. As part of a resolution, the government had suggested that India be named a “node” or certifying authority to reduce the delays that are costing the Indian diamond industry in Surat heavily at present.
Mr. Prevot said that, while Belgium is a certifying authority, it is not part of the G-7 and therefore could not make that decision. However, officials said that a “compromise” on the issue was being discussed by Indian and Belgian diamond exchange officials.
(with inputs from Kallol Bhattacherjee)
Published – March 04, 2025 11:04 pm IST
