Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called for greater defence cooperation between India and Belgium, saying the two countries have significant potential to expand their partnership, particularly through stronger engagement between their defence industries, amid a period of “great geopolitical and economic turmoil”.
Singh made the remarks during the India-Belgium Defence Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, where Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken led the delegation.
Francken is accompanying Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is on an official visit to India from September 2 to 4. The visit marks the first visit by a Belgian Prime Minister to India in more than 20 years.
De Wever is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the full spectrum of India-Belgium relations, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.
“The world is witnessing a time of great geopolitical and economic turmoil. Most of it is not our doing, but we have to handle the challenges. In such situations, meeting a friend and partner like you provides a useful opportunity to exchange views and perspectives,” Singh said.
He highlighted the longstanding India-Belgium partnership, which is based on mutual respect, democratic values and a shared commitment to a rules-based global order. Singh said the recently held India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue had provided a framework for taking bilateral cooperation forward, including in the areas of defence and security.
Emphasising the scope for closer industrial collaboration, Singh said, “We welcome greater cooperation with Belgian and Indian defence companies.” He expressed confidence that the discussions would provide strategic direction to future bilateral defence engagements.
In a post on X, Singh said the two sides had reviewed the entire spectrum of defence relations and defence industrial cooperation. He added that multiple MoUs and contracts had been signed under defence industrial cooperation, aimed at leveraging Belgian technology together with Indian skills and scale.
Francken, meanwhile, pitched for deeper ties with India, praising the country’s technological capabilities and stressing the need for greater collaboration on future projects.
“We can learn so much from you. You are a high-technology country,” Francken said, adding that Belgium, despite having considerable technological expertise, “need[s] countries like India” to collaborate on future projects.
He described the partnership as the way forward for Belgium and said the two countries had made significant progress since Belgium’s largest-ever economic mission to India, led by Princess Astrid in March 2025.
Francken noted that contracts for collaboration projects had been signed within 18 months of that visit, describing the progress as “amazing” and saying it demonstrated the efforts made by both countries to advance their relationship.
Agreeing with Singh’s assessment of the global situation, Francken said the geopolitical challenges facing the world required countries to be realistic and work together. He stressed that India and Belgium could address these challenges through “friendship and partnership”.
The discussions between the two Defence Ministers come against the backdrop of an evolving global geopolitical and economic environment, including conflicts in West Asia and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
