After twelve years, Princess Astrid goes again on an economic mission to India

The South Asian country is sometimes called the “pharmacy of the world” and has become an important player in space travel. In addition, it is struggling with major challenges with regard to infrastructure and the environment. No wonder that Princess Astrid will go to India again at the end of this week for an economic mission, twelve years after her previous visit.

326 representatives from Belgian companies and organizations travel in the Kielzog van de Princess. A number of ministers also participate in the mission: the new Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot and his colleague from Foreign Trade Theo Francken. For Flanders, Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele travels. The Brussels Region does not send a minister due to agenda problems, while the Walloon minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet also has to cancel after his heavy fall at the end of December.

Read too. Princess Astrid follows traces of her great -grandparents in Botuin Rio

The delegation leaves on Saturday and visits both the capital Delhi and the Economic Center for Mumbai for a week. The program includes a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, just like company visits (Agristo, DEME, John Cockerill, Proximusdochter Route Mobile …) and Seminars around Cleantech, Construction, Defense or about cultural differences in doing business.

Diamond

In 2023, 48.43 billion euros in goods was carried out from our country to India. But the growth potential is great, because India strives to become the second largest economy in the world. The average economic growth was over decade at more than 6 percent per year. So a lot of Belgian entrepreneurs try to do business there. By participating in this trade mission, they hope to be able to put a foot in the door.

The trade between Belgium and India is partly dominated by the diamond. But last year he got blows, the sector was struggling, and so it was consciously chosen to focus on other sectors during this mission, such as pharmaceutical and health, logistics, space and aviation, …

Piet Demunter, the CEO Ad Interim of Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), sees opportunities for the Flemish companies in renewable energy, cleansech, waste and waste water policy, but also nutrition, he said before the start of the mission.