Jaishankar meets Belgian Prime Minister; discusses bilateral cooperation

London, May 16

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called on Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and discussed with him growing bilateral cooperation, including in trade and technology, and spoke about contemporary strategic concerns.

Jaishankar arrived in Brussels on Monday evening for the last leg of his three-nation tour covering Bangladesh, Sweden and Belgium.

Jaishankar said he conveyed personal greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to De Croo during the meeting, which was also attended by Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Skill Development and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

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

“Delighted to call on PM of Belgium @alexanderdecroo along with my colleagues – @PiyushGoyal & @rajeev_GOI today. Conveyed personal greetings of PM @narendramodi,” the external affairs minister wrote on Twitter.

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

The Indian ministerial delegation also met Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission.

“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,” Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.

The first ministerial-level meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will take place on Tuesday in Brussels.