New Delhi: India and Belgium have renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy cooperation, one of four agreements exchanged during Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever's talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The renewed MoU expands the areas the two countries will work on.
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Green hydrogen, solar energy, energy storage, offshore wind energy, bio-energy, small hydropower and pumped storage plants all find mention in it, the joint statement shows. It builds on a 2015 framework and on the work of the bilateral Joint Working Group on Renewable Energy.
On green hydrogen, the two sides pointed to an existing MoU between GH2 India, the Belgian Hydrogen Council and Flanders Investment & Trade. They also noted the participation of Indian officials in a green hydrogen exchange programme run by the Brussels-based Egmont Institute, along with reciprocal visits by government, industry and research representatives. Both leaders said India and Belgium had a role in strengthening the green hydrogen value chain across production, transportation, storage and end-use.
Belgium's maritime engineering capability featured alongside the renewables text. The leaders welcomed opportunities to deepen collaboration in port development, logistics, connectivity, dredging and offshore wind infrastructure. They acknowledged the contribution of Belgian dredging expertise to India's port infrastructure, and its potential role in supporting offshore renewable energy projects.
That thread carried into the visit itself. De Wever travelled to Mumbai on September 4 for engagements with the diamond, ports and logistics sectors, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The statement also flagged the planned participation of Flemish Minister of Mobility and Ports Annick De Ridder in Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue in New Delhi in October 2026, and the prospect of cooperation between the Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Centre and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority on training and capacity building across the Indian port sector.
Beyond renewables, the two leaders recorded expanding cooperation in critical minerals refining and recycling, nuclear energy, semiconductors, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, defence industrial collaboration and sustainable industries. They said they would explore emerging opportunities in these areas involving private sector stakeholders.
On climate, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement and its principles, including equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances. They said they supported a successful COP31 that advances implementation, and recognised that enhanced climate action in developing countries is enabled by mobilising adequate, predictable and accessible climate finance from all sources.
De Wever was on an official visit from September 2 to 4, his first to India since assuming office in February 2025. He is accompanied by Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade Theo Francken, and a delegation of officials and business leaders. Before becoming prime minister, De Wever was mayor of Antwerp for 12 years, the city at one end of a diamond trade the statement described as an enduring link with Mumbai and Surat.
The two leaders set a target of doubling bilateral trade over the next five years, and welcomed the launch of an India-Belgium Investment Fast-Track Mechanism to address investment bottlenecks. They recalled the deaths of more than 9,000 Indian soldiers in the Flanders Fields during the First World War, and that Belgium was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with India in 1947.
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The other three agreements exchanged during the visit cover defence, cooperation between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Belgium's Federal Police on transnational organised crime and cybercrime, and diplomatic training.
