India, Belgium to deepen defence ties, target doubling of bilateral trade

India and Belgium on Thursday agreed to step up defence and security cooperation, expand collaboration in clean energy and critical minerals and work towards doubling bilateral trade over the next five years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is on his first visit to India.

The two countries will expand military exchanges and training and open up new opportunities for joint development and production of defence equipment. They will also strengthen intelligence-sharing and cooperation between their security agencies to combat crime and terrorism.

“Defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of our relationship,” Modi said at a joint press meet with De Wever. He said agreements between the two governments and their defence industries would create new opportunities for co-development and co-production.