India, Belgium pitch for resumption of FTA talks

Brussels: India and Belgium Tuesday pitched for resumption of the long stalled negotiations on the proposed India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) on "mutually agreed terms" as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Charles Michel resolved to strengthen their bilateral ties.

During their meeting here today, both leaders committed to strengthen the economic engagement by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and expanding investment ties.

"They agreed on the need to tap into the full potential of the EU-India strategic partnership and looked forward to the resumption of negotiations on the India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) on mutually-agreed terms," a joint statement issued after meeting of the two leaders said.

Belgium is the member of the 28-nation European Union (EU).

The negotiations for the free trade pact, officially dubbed as BTIA, have been held up since May 2013 as both the sides are yet to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector.

Although senior officials from both the sides have met twice in the last two months on the issue, no date has been finalised yet for the next round of talks.

Belgium is India's second largest trade partner in goods in the EU and India is the Belgium's second largest export destination outside the EU.

More than 160 Belgian companies have presence in India and around 80 Indian firms are present in the European nation.

"They encouraged businesses on both sides to take advantage of the growing trade and investment opportunities, especially in sectors with mutual complementarities like ports, railways, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, IT, health, research and innovation," it said.

Recognising the importance of the diamond sector in bilateral trade and the ongoing cooperation in the framework of the Kimberley Process, they resolved to further consolidate this mutually beneficial partnership.

"They committed to further strengthening the economic engagement by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and expanding investment ties," the statement said.

Acknowledging the contributions made by skilled workers to the service sectors of the two economies and the importance of smooth movement of skilled personnel, both the leaders recognised the importance of global cross-border transfer of information by electronic means for business purposes and resolved to address regulatory issues.

Both the sides also discussed the various flagship development initiatives launched by India and agreed to explore enhanced cooperation in these areas, especially the Smart Cities and the Clean Ganga programmes including the management of water resources in the Ganga River basin. 

The two leaders hoped that efforts would be "undertaken to

maintain air connectivity between Belgium and India either through direct flight or through code-share operations".

They took note of the vibrant passenger traffic between the two countries as well as recognised the need for direct passenger flights, the joint statement said.

The leaders also welcomed the ongoing negotiations to cooperate in the area of Information Communication Technology and Electronics (ICT&E) and look forward to early conclusion of an agreement, the statement said.

The cooperation would touch upon various areas including including e-governance/mobile governance, cyber security, institutional framework between major research institutions, education and training in ICT.

The two Prime Ministers "welcomed the progress under the MoU on renewable energy between the competent Belgian authorities at federal and regional levels and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India", the statement said.

The inaugural meeting of the joint working group was held on March 14 where smart cities, waste to energy, small wind turbines, water purification technologies involving renewable energy and zero emission buildings were identified as priority areas for joint collaboration.

According to the statement, the leaders took positive note of the active cooperation in science and technology under the intergovernmental agreement between India's Department of Science and Technology and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office.

Modi and his counterpart welcomed the technical activation of an optical infrared telescope in Devasthal in India "as a concrete demonstration of successful collaboration".

It has been jointly developed by ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences) of India and the Belgian company AMOS (Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems)

Among others, the two leaders welcomed the upcoming signature of the finalised memorandum of understanding between the Department of Biotechnology of India and the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) for cooperation in the field of biotechnology.

Both sides welcomed the imminent extension of the agreement between the Government of Flanders and the Shipping Ministry for another two years.

There is also ongoing collaboration between the Port of Antwerp and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to develop a joint training centre under the MoU signed in February 2015.