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RAdm Tanguy Botman, Commander of the Belgian Navy, is on an official visit to India on Saturday, aimed at strengthening bilateral maritime cooperation and further deepening Navy-to-Navy engagements between the two countries.
According to an official release, on arrival, he paid homage to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial and was thereafter accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honor at South Block. During the visit, RAdm Tanguy Botman held discussions with Adm Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, on a range of issues of mutual interest, including maritime security, operational engagements, training, personnel exchanges and collaboration in naval technology. He also interacted with other senior officials to explore avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation. India and Belgium share longstanding maritime linkages. The visit marks an important milestone in bilateral Navy-to-Navy relations and is expected to provide further impetus to maritime cooperation through strengthened existing engagements and exploration of new avenues for collaboration, the release stated. Earlier in September, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever made a three-day official visit to India, with the two sides stepping up cooperation across trade, investment, defence, renewable energy, security and people-to-people ties. Briefing the media here following De Wevers meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George said that the relationship between the two countries has a clear focus on three Ts trade, technology and talent. In a nutshell, there is a clear focus on three Ts: Trade, Technology and Talent in this relationship, George said.De Wever arrived in India on September 2 for the three-day visit, at the invitation of PM Modi, with discussions focused on further strengthening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation across trade, investment, defence, technology and connectivity. Among the key outcomes, India and Belgium signed a Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation and an MoU between the Belgian Security and Defence Industry Association (BDSI) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM). On trade and investment, the two sides set a target of doubling bilateral trade over the next five years. George said bilateral trade currently stands at about USD 13 billion. The two countries also agreed to establish an investment fast-track mechanism to facilitate and promote Belgian investments in India and institutionalise regular business engagement through the India-Belgium Business Forum. (ANI)
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