EAM S Jaishankar To Visit Belgium, Attend EU Foreign Affairs Council And Hold Key Bilateral Meetings

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will embark on a visit to Belgium on Sunday, where he will attend the European Union Foreign Affairs Council and hold bilateral meetings with European Union leadership and Belgian counterparts.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the minister will be in Brussels until March 16. The visit comes at the invitation of Kaja Kallas, who serves as the EU High Representative and Vice President.

The MEA said the visit is taking place soon after the 16th India–EU Summit and aims to deepen the strategic partnership between India and the European Union. During the trip, Jaishankar will also hold meetings with EU leaders and his counterparts from Belgium and other EU member states to further strengthen cooperation.

India–EU relations have reached a historic high in 2026, evolving from a long-standing strategic partnership into a deeper economic and geopolitical alignment. The two sides are expanding collaboration across trade, security, technology, sustainability and global governance issues.

Landmark Free Trade Agreement

A major development in bilateral ties has been the conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, often described as the “mother of all deals” due to its scale.

The agreement is expected to create a preferential trade zone covering nearly two billion people and about a quarter of the global GDP.

Negotiations for the FTA began in 2007 but were suspended in 2013 before being relaunched in 2022. Talks gained momentum in late 2025, with final rounds concluding successfully.

The negotiations were wrapped up on January 27 during the 16th India–EU Summit in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ursula von der Leyen described the agreement as a historic milestone.

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