The terrorist attack at Brussels airport and metro stations on Tuesday will not prove a deterrent for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed trip to the Belgian capital on March 30 for the 13th India-EU Summit.
Modi will be attending the summit at the invitation of the President of European Council Donald Tusk and the President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
“The EU is India’s leading trade and investment partner and biggest export destination. India and EU have been strategic partners since 2004.
“The 13th Summit aims to deepen the partnership and advance collaboration in priority areas of growth and development,” Vikas Swarup, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told reporters here on Tuesday.
Besides, Modi will also hold a bilateral summit meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
“Belgium is India’s second largest trade partner within the EU. The bilateral meeting between the two Prime Ministers will focus on enhancing the economic partnership. The two Prime Ministers will also hold discussions on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” Swarup added.
Brussels attack On the Brussels attack, Swarup said the Indian missions are closely monitoring the situation and there were no reports of any Indian casualties. The Indian mission at Brussels also released emergency numbers: +32-26409140 and +32-476748575.
On March 31, Modi will be reaching Washington to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit. During the summit, India will be submitting its national progress report on nuclear security.
Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders during the summit, the highlight of which will be a likely meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Prime Minister will then proceed to Saudi Arabia on April 2-3. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest partner with bilateral trade exceeding $39 billion in 2014-15. It is also India’s largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of the country’s total imports.
BRICS meet in Goa Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that India will be hosting the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa from October 15-16. India assumed BRICS Chairmanship from the Russian Federation for the year 2016.