On Thursday, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and his counterpart from Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, held their first “stand-alone summit” in 20 years. While speaking at the video conference, PM Modi said, “India-Luxembourg’s partnership amid the COVID-19 pandemic can be beneficial for the recovery of both the countries. Our bilateral belief in democracy, rule of law and freedom strengthens our relation and partnership.” He also spoke of the need to expand “economic engagement” between the two countries and bolster the existing cooperation in areas including “steel, financial technology, [and the] digital domain.”
Sandeep Chakravorty, the Ministry of External Affairs’ Joint Secretary for Western Europe said, “The meeting focused constructive engagement on our bilateral relationship, especially given the strength of Luxembourg economy and our needs. It focused on the financial sector, fin-tech, green financing and space applications.”
As a result of the meet, the two sides signed three agreements including pacts between the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the State Bank of India, and the India International Stock Exchange and LuxInnovation and Invest India. Moreover, the two also discussed a prospective agreement for bolstering cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Luxembourg’s space agency. PM Modi further applauded Luxembourg’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance, an alliance of over 120 countries of which India currently holds presidency. He also urged Bettel to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. They also touched upon other issues such as countering terrorism and climate change.
Luxembourg is a crucial partner for India in the European Union. It accounts for 8.5% of the Foreign Portfolio Investments in India, making it India’s third-largest partner on this front. The two countries are also age-old partners in the steel sector. Paul Wurth, a Luxembourgish company, has collaborated with India companies such as SAIL, TISCO and Jindal Steel, on several occasions and helped it upgrade its steel infrastructure. Moreover, ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based company, which is also the world’s largest producer of steel, has entered into a joint-venture with the Indian company Nippon Steel.
This meet comes as India continues to negotiate a favourable Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. On Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said, “I recognise that an FTA with Europe is not an easy negotiation. It the world, it must be the most difficult negotiation because it’s a very high standard FTA.” Acknowledging this, along with the importance of the European market, India has also held bilateral summits with Denmark and Italy.