Port of Antwerp-Bruges and its partners will bring together Belgian and Indian policymakers and business leaders in Mumbai on 4 September, following Prime Minister Bart De Wever's official visit to India, to discuss the opportunities created by the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. The event forms part of the port's ambition to further develop its trade relations with India and to consolidate its position as a key gateway for the growing cargo flows between India and Europe. Antwerp-Bruges, formed in 2022 by the merger of the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, ranks as Europe's second-largest port and one of the largest chemical clusters on the continent, positioning it at the heart of Europe's trade with fast-growing Asian economies.

A strategic trade partner

India is an important growth market for Port of Antwerp-Bruges. In 2025, the port handled 6.3 million tonnes of goods originating from or destined for India, making the country the third-largest trade partner for breakbulk and the seventh-largest for containers. Port of Antwerp-Bruges has maintained a permanent presence in Mumbai since 2006 and is celebrating 20 years of operations there this year. That two-decade foothold reflects a broader pattern among major European ports, which have increasingly established overseas representations to secure cargo flows and offer consultancy services as competition among North European hubs has intensified.

The collaboration extends beyond cargo flows. Through its subsidiaries, Port of Antwerp-Bruges International and APEC–Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center, the port shares its expertise in areas including port management, digitalisation, nautical operations and sustainability. It is also exploring investment opportunities and contributing to the further development of India's port and maritime sector through training and knowledge exchange. This aligns with India's own port modernisation agenda, under which the government has been upgrading and expanding its maritime infrastructure to handle rising trade volumes.

The free trade agreement as a lever

With negotiations concluded in early 2026 after multiple rounds that began in 2007 and were revived in 2022, the India-EU Free Trade Agreement offers new opportunities for growth. Once the agreement comes into force, import duties on a wide range of goods will be reduced or abolished, and simpler customs procedures are expected to ensure frictionless trade. The European Commission estimates that EU goods exports to India – worth nearly €49 billion in 2024 – could double by 2032.

The sectors that stand to benefit – including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, textiles and food – are closely aligned with Port of Antwerp-Bruges' cargo flows and industrial clusters. Antwerp in particular hosts one of Europe's largest petrochemical complexes, while India is a major global producer of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, making the corridor between the two a natural fit for expanded flows.

How Belgium and India can capitalise on these growth opportunities will be the focus of the India-Belgium High-Level Dialogue on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which Port of Antwerp-Bruges is organising in Mumbai on 4 September in collaboration with the Prime Minister's Office, FPS Foreign Affairs, Flanders Investment & Trade and the Consulate-General of Belgium.

Prime Minister De Wever will hold talks with representatives of the Indian Government, including the Hon'ble Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, and the Hon'ble Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as well as with representatives of the Belgian and Indian business communities. The event will follow his bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 September in New Delhi.

From dialogue to concrete opportunities

Port of Antwerp-Bruges aims to turn the opportunities created by the free trade agreement into concrete trade, investment and partnerships, further expanding its role as a logistics and industrial gateway between India and Europe. With that in mind, the port will return to India together with companies from the port community from 1 to 5 February 2027, as part of a multi-sector trade mission.

William Demoor, Chief Customer Relations Officer at Port of Antwerp-Bruges, said: "India has been a crucial trade partner for Port of Antwerp-Bruges for many years, and there is still a lot of potential. With our logistics and industrial clusters, our connectivity to the European hinterland, and our twenty-year presence in India, we have everything in place to support a significant part of that growth. We want to be the natural gateway to Europe for Indian companies, and the link to one of the world's fastest-growing markets for European companies."

Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Belgium and member of the Board of Directors of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, said: "In a world where protectionism and economic dependencies are once again gaining ground, our country chooses reliable partners and trade that diversifies our supply chains. The free trade agreement between India and the EU gives concrete substance to that choice, but strong logistics connections are essential to turn those opportunities into reality. India is an important growth market for Belgian companies, while Belgium, with the second-largest port in Europe, offers a key gateway to the European market. Port of Antwerp-Bruges thus forms a crucial logistics bridge between India and Europe."

Source: Port of Antwerp-Bruges