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Flemish exports to India amounts to no less than 7.6 billion Euros.
“With this, Flanders seeks to consolidate the diamond exports to India and promote other export sectors such as clean tech, food, infrastructure and high tech,” said Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium.
Geert Bourgeois is leading an 84-member delegation, representing 55 Flemish companies and sector federations, in the largest ever economic mission to India from Belgium.
In India, Flemish innovative and knowledge-driven economy is held in high regard and we hope to encourage Indian companies to increase investments in Flanders.
India is Flanders’ seventh largest trade partner. After the US, India is Flanders’ second most important non-European customer and is their main market in Asia, ahead of China.
Within the EU, Belgium is India’s third most important trade partner (behind Germany and the UK). In 2015, Flemish exports to India totalled 7.6 billion euros. Flanders accounts for 97 per cent of Belgian exports to India.
“Diamonds remain the driving force with 80 per cent. However, numerous other products also increasingly find their way to India, such as fruit (saw a 330 per cent increase in 2015), machines (up by 18 per cent) and plastics (up by 16 per cent).
Krish Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, CII National Council on Innovation and Co-founder Infosys, said that innovation typically happens at the edge of an industry, at the intersection of industries, at the intersection of technologies and at the intersection of different markets.
According to him, about 60-70 per cent of funding for startups in Bengaluru come from outside the country typically form the US. Bengaluru offers an opportunity for funds from Belgium to tap into one of the fastest growing regions of the world, a very large market and participate in the growth opportunity.
For the startsups in India, this is a new source of funding, mentoring, technology and market access so both sides will benefit from the relationship.
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