Belgium to send port delegation to India in Feb 2027

Speaking at a high-level dialogue on the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the Jio Convention Centre on Friday, De Wever criticised the growing push towards protectionism and unpredictable tariff measures

MUMBAI: Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever took a pointed swipe at the United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, accusing him of imposing trade barriers arbitrarily and without economic logic. He also said the Port of Antwerp-Bruges will lead a delegation to India in February next year to deepen cooperation across ports, logistics, chemicals and energy.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal (R), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (C) at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges event, in Mumbai on Friday. (@MEAIndia X)

Speaking at a high-level dialogue on the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the Jio Convention Centre on Friday, De Wever criticised the growing push towards protectionism and unpredictable tariff measures.

“These days, more and more voices are calling for barriers to go up, for markets to shut off and for tariffs to be imposed. Some do it entirely arbitrarily. They decide something on Monday, revoke it on Wednesday and reinstate it on Saturday,” he said in an obvious reference to the US President.

Drawing laughter and applause from the audience, De Wever added, “Your applause tells me that you all know who I am talking about. I am not going to say the name, but you know who I mean. They do these things arbitrarily, without any economic logic at all, in the service of one power game after another.”

The Belgian prime minister also identified green hydrogen as another major area for cooperation, pointing to India’s ambitious plans to expand production and Belgium’s aim of becoming a major North-West European importer of green molecules.

Goyal on lab-grown diamonds

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal called for deeper India-Belgium cooperation in the lab-grown diamond sector, including technology and certification. “Let us co-create, design. Maybe lab-grown diamonds would be a new area we should look at working together in,” he said.

The minister suggested anchoring the initiative in Antwerp, a major global diamond marketplace, and in Mumbai and Surat, which are at the heart of India’s diamond-processing ecosystem. He also used the diamond metaphor to underline the potential of the India-Belgium partnership. “A diamond is formed under tremendous pressure. In a world under pressure and turmoil, let India and Belgium form something as beautiful and precious as a diamond, not just for India, Belgium and Europe, but a diamond for the world,” he said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state is ready to play a leading role in translating the India-EU FTA into concrete projects. “Maharashtra would like to be the first state to translate the Belgium-Maharashtra projects. The projects must be fast-tracked. If Belgium identifies a project, we will dedicate a team and work with Belgium to make it happen,” he said.