Duing the State Visit of their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians to India, Wallonia and the Indian state of Meghalaya signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost bilateral relations between the two regional entities. The agreement covers a wide range of areas, including trade, the environmental sector, training, agro-food, health, science and technology. It aims to encourage projects in this little-known region of India.
In addition to the purely economic aspect, this Memorandum of Understanding aims to stimulate projects in a wide range of areas. The agreement mentions, for example, urban development, in reference to the Indian political will to make cities more "liveable" and "smarter". Other sectors in the spotlight include agro-food (e.g. cattle and pig farming), sports and recreation (Meghalaya wishes to develop ecological tourism), health care (medical facilities), training, architecture and heritage.
It's in this context that ProAniWal (Promotion of the animal productions of Wallonia) concluded for example a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with this Indian State to export of the bovine seed.
Walloon Minister-President Willy Borsus, who signed the agreement, sees this as a very good opportunity for Walloon companies: "In all these areas, first-to-market Walloon companies could benefit from a largely untapped market. This collaboration fully meets the desire of the Walloon Government to encourage our companies to further develop their exports, and markets, on an international scale."
Through this agreement, both parties aim to stimulate the development of joint projects between actors from both regions. They also wish to introduce to Walloon companies and decision-makers an Indian region that is not as well known to them. Indeed, Walloon companies today know India’s main cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai or Kolkata, whereas the rest of the country is largely unexplored. Yet many opportunities are to be seized elsewhere in India too. This agreement aims to provide a reference framework for any company wishing to explore new regions.
Like India, Belgium is a federal country. It has 3 Regions (Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders). Wallonia is the southern, French-speaking region of Belgium, bordering France to the South, Luxembourg to the South-East, and Germany to the East. The region has a size of 16,844 sq.km. (a little smaller than Meghalaya) and has a population of 3.61 million people (slightly more than Meghalaya). The scale and size of both regions is therefore similar. In addition, Wallonia enjoys a humid climate and lush greenery, making the two environments in both regions comparable as well. The administrative capital of Wallonia is the city of Namur (80,000 inhabitants).
The agreement provides for the creation of a working group to suggest, prepare and organize concrete collaborative projects. This working group will be composed of representatives of both parties and will meet at least once a year.
For additional information, please contact:
Christophe Van Overstraeten
Commercial Counsellor, Wallonia-Brussels Economic Representation
Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi
Mobile phone : 97 11 20 14 48
