In the framework of the Joint Economic Commission between India and Belgium-Luxembourg, the Belgian-Luxembourg Business Association in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry and with the support of the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi, organized a Business Seminar “Doing Business with Belgium, at the heart of Europe”.  The Seminar took place on April 14^th at the Residence of the Belgian Ambassador to India, H.E. Mr. Pierre Vaesen at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

Active support was also given by Walloon Export Agency, Brussels Export and Flanders Investment & Trade.

The event was sponsored by Barco, BNP Paribas and Bekaert.

Business relations between Belgium and India are flourishing. Belgium is currently the 3^rd most important trading partner within the European Union, preceded by Germany and the United Kingdom. The total bilateral import and export nearly reached USD 10 billion in 2009-2010. At present, there are about 150 Belgian companies formally established in India and several distinguished Indian companies are active in Belgium, for example Jet Airways, Tata Consultancy Services, Suzlon, Crompton Greaves, Raymond and others.

Belgium has one of the most dynamic and open economies in the world.  Foreign trade is the lifeblood of the Belgian economy. Belgium is the 8^th largest exporter of goods worldwide and the 13^th largest exporter of services. It is also amongst the top ten destinations for foreign direct investments in the world.

The Seminar showcased Belgium`s numerous advantages as a trading partner and outward direct investment partner for India. The speaker`s explored the advantages of using Belgium and its regions as a part of a European growth strategy for Indian companies.

About 130 people had registered for the Seminar, out of which 110 eventually attended. 60% of the attendees were invited by or through the BLBA.

The programme started at 4pm and Welcome Remarks were given by H.E. Mr. Pierre Vaesen, Belgian Ambassador to India. This was followed by a Special Address given by Mr. Geert Muylle, who was heading the Belgian Delegation to India. He is the Director-General of Bilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. In his speech, Mr. Muylle touched the following topics:

 

• India is the place to be from the Belgian perspective
• Bilateral relations between India & Belgium are thriving
• Belgium is India’s choice gateway to Europe

 

Mr. Frans De Keyser, who is a Senior Advisor at BECI-Brussels Import Agency, gave a presentation about Export to Europe. He elaborated on the import procedures, the import duty regime and what legal aspects to take into account when setting up a business in Belgium.

Mr. Jean-Pierre Muller, head of the Wallonia-Brussels Economic Representation in New Delhi presented a very good reason to set up in Belgium. He spoke about the advantage of Belgium`s location in Europe, as well as the accessibility of the country by road, by railway, by air ad by ship.

This was the end of the first session, and the 5 minute break was preceded by a question and answer session. This Q&A was moderated by Mr. Rajiv Dhawan, Director of Magotteaux Industries. The audience got a chance to interact with the speakers, and some very interesting questions from the guests were answered by the panel.

After the break, Ms. Sonu Iyer who is a Partner Human Capital at Ernst & Young gave some tips on how to benefit from the Social Security Agreement between Belgium and India. A lot of attention and appreciation from the audience was given to this topic as this is one of the USP`s of trade between Belgium and India.

Hereafter, Mr. Marc De Mil, Counsellor at the Fiscal Department of Foreign Investments, Ministry of Finance elaborated on the Fiscal Aspects of Doing Business with Belgium. He spoke about the main tax incentives, namely the Notional Interest Deduction, dividend withholding tax exemption and some unique tax features for R&D.

The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Ashwani Gupta, President, Group Strategy & Business Planning, Crompton Greaves/Avantha Group.  Avantha Group is one of the biggest investors in Belgium.

In his address Mr. Gupta highlighted the key points that were decisive in his company’s decision to set-up their operations in Belgium. Due to the multilingual workforce, his company was able to integrate very well with the local population. He was most appreciative of the healthy investment climate, supportive governmental organisations and the friendly atmosphere prevailing in Belgium.

Future Perspectives for India-Eu Trade & Investment were presented by Mr. Peter Young, Counsellor, and Head of Trade & Economic Affairs at the EU delegation to India.

In the end, Concluding Remarks were given by Mr. P. Ratna Rao, CEO at RR International and Vice-President of the Belgian-Luxembourg Business Association. He is also the immediate Past President of BLBA. Mr. Ratna Rao, who has been doing successful business with Belgium since the past 30 years, was the perfect person to conclude this Seminar and to convince Indian business men from his own experience to set up their businesses in Belgium.

The Seminar was followed by a reception with cocktail and snacks. This was a perfect opportunity for the guests to interact with the guest speakers, as well as a networking opportunity as many potential business men who are interested in doing business with Belgium were present. This also gave people interested to set up their business in Belgium an opportunity to interact with people who are already doing business with Belgium and to share their experiences with each other.