New Delhi: The External Minister of India Smt. SushmaSwaraj visited Belgium from 20 – 22 June 2018. This was the first high-level visit to Belgium since the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister in March 2016 for the India-EU Summit. The visit took place at a time when India and Belgium are celebrating the completion of 70 years since the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
EAM of India called on H. E. Mr. Jean Claude Juncker, President of the EU Commission. During the meeting the leaders discussed India-EU bilateral relations, the progress made since the India-EU Summit of October 2017 and the forthcoming EU Strategy Paper on India.
EAM of India participated at the high-level event ‘Climate, Peace and Security: Time for Action’ organised by the European Union External Action Service. EAM delivered the introductory speech on the theme, ‘Indispensable Multilateralism: A shared responsibility to prepare’. In the afternoon, EAM had a bilateral meeting with H. E. Ms. Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice President of the European Commission to review the entire gamut of India-EU relations.
Hon’ble EAM of India Smt. Sushma Swaraj had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. EAM congratulated Belgium on becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The two sides reviewed the ongoing bilateral relations and also discussed matters relating to UNSC reforms, development cooperation, counter terrorism and other regional issues.
The visit of EAM to Belgium, including the interactions at the bilateral level with Belgium and with the European Union reinforced our bilateral relations with Belgium and strengthened our strategic partnership with EU.