A free trade agreement (FTA) is a framework. It is essential, but nobody lives in a structure. It still needs walls: institutions and rules companies can rely on. Windows: real market access, in both directions. Light: predictable, transparent conditions. Ventilation: talent and ideas moving freely. And movement: goods, investment and people actually flowing through the building.

That was the thread through the discussion. Beyond tariffs, the conversation kept returning to deeper partnerships in research, technology and innovation, and to the hard part: turning good research into solutions that can be tested, commercialised and scaled to benefit both sides.

The partnership works because each side brings what the other needs. India brings scale, talent and a fast-growing data ecosystem and an ability for rapid deployment. Belgium and the wider European Union bring research excellence and specialised industrial strengths, from life sciences and chemicals to clean technology. Belgium invests 3.4% of its gross domestic product in research and development, among the highest rates in Europe. Through Antwerp-Bruges, one of Europe’s largest ports, it offers a gateway to a single market of 450 million people, and European standards are trusted worldwide. Together, that creates real opportunities for companies on both sides, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

For India, the European Union is already one of its two largest trading partners. For Europe, India is still around 2% of its trade. That gap is the opportunity.

Thank you to Geoffroy Gueyffier , Asim Anwar, Erika Staël von Holstein, Renaat Schrooten , Edith N. NordmannTej Paul Bhatla, Prof. Dr. Johan Stiens ,Hemakiran Gupta , Jan Luykx and Frank Haak for conversations of real substance. And a special thank you to Rakesh Kapila and BICA, the Belgium India Creative Association, for bringing together such a diverse group of voices.

Ambassador Jan Luykx set the bar for success: if, in ten years, India and the European Union are shaping world geopolitics together, we will know the FTA has worked.