Indian Delegation Meets Belgium PM, European Commission Prez Ahead of India-EU Trade Talks

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday evening as he arrived in Brussels for the last leg of his three-nation tour covering Bangladesh, Sweden and Belgium.

The minister said he conveyed personal greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the meeting, which also included ministerial colleagues Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Skill Development and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“Delighted to call on PM of Belgium @alexanderdecroo along with my colleagues – @PiyushGoyal & @rajeev_GOI today. Conveyed personal greetings of PM @narendramodi,” he tweeted.

“Discussed our growing bilateral cooperation, including in trade and technology. Also spoke about contemporary strategic concerns,” he said.

Jaishankar is in Brussels for the first meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council, scheduled for Tuesday.

Shortly after meeting Belgium’s PM,  the Indian ministerial team also met EU Commission and held an open discussion on trade, technology and geopolitics.

“Thank President of @EU_Commission @vonderleyen for meeting the Indian ministerial team. Appreciate the open discussion on trade, technology and geopolitics. Look forward to the India-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting tomorrow,” the minister said in another tweet.

The external affairs minister arrived in Belgium after a three-day tour of Sweden where he had a series of high-level discussions, including at the India Trilateral Forum and the European Union (EU) Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (EIPMF) in Stockholm.