Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever traveled to Mumbai this week, wrapping up his first official visit to India with a business focused stop centered on the diamond, ports, and logistics sectors. The Mumbai leg followed two days of talks in New Delhi, where De Wever met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss trade, defense, and technology cooperation between the two countries.
The Mumbai visit carries particular significance given the deep historical ties between Belgium and India’s diamond trade. The city of Antwerp has long served as one of the world’s leading centers for diamond cutting and polishing, drawing heavily on rough diamonds sourced from India and elsewhere. During his stop in Mumbai, De Wever met with representatives from the diamond industry to discuss ways to strengthen and modernize that long standing commercial relationship amid shifting global trade patterns.
Bilateral trade between Belgium and India reached thirteen point zero one billion dollars during the most recent fiscal year, according to figures released alongside the visit. Belgian officials say the country has invested approximately four point two billion dollars in India since the year 2000, reflecting a steadily deepening economic relationship between the two nations that has expanded well beyond diamonds into broader trade and investment ties.
De Wever was accompanied on the trip by Belgium’s Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, Theo Francken, along with a delegation of government officials and business leaders. The presence of the defense minister underscored the growing military and security dimension of the relationship, with officials confirming that talks in New Delhi had touched on defense cooperation alongside the trip’s broader economic focus.
During his time in the Indian capital, De Wever delivered a keynote address at a business event organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, focusing specifically on ongoing negotiations around a free trade agreement between India and the European Union. Belgian officials have positioned the country as an active advocate for closer trade ties between India and the broader European bloc, building on momentum established during earlier diplomatic exchanges between the two governments.
The visit marks the first trip by a Belgian prime minister to India in two decades, giving it added symbolic weight beyond its immediate commercial objectives. Officials on both sides have described the visit as building on recent diplomatic momentum, including an economic mission led by Princess Astrid in 2025 that brought hundreds of participants from Belgian companies and institutions to India, resulting in numerous memoranda of understanding across various sectors.
In Mumbai, De Wever’s meetings with logistics and ports industry stakeholders reflect Belgium’s interest in strengthening supply chain connections between the two countries, particularly given Belgium’s role as a major European gateway for goods moving through the Port of Antwerp. Officials from both nations have expressed interest in exploring how stronger logistics ties could support growing trade volumes as both economies look to diversify their international partnerships.
As De Wever concludes his visit and prepares to return to Belgium, officials from both governments say they expect the trip to lay groundwork for more frequent high level exchanges going forward. With India’s economy continuing to expand rapidly and Belgium looking to strengthen its commercial position within a changing global trade landscape, this visit may represent an early step toward a more active and regular diplomatic and economic relationship between the two countries in the years ahead.
