India Luxembourg Summit Highlights Economic Cooperation Between the Countries

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a video conference between India and Luxembourg – a first summit held between the two countries in two decades. He pitched for forging stronger economic tries, emphasised building bi-lateral cooperation in finance and digital technologies. 

Luxembourg is an important financial partner of India

A global hotspot for international trade and finance, Luxembourg is an important financial partner of India. The two countries enjoyed strong economic ties in different segments. In fact, Luxembourg is the third-largest source of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) in India, with a portfolio size of more than Rs 3 lakh crores. Quite a few Indian companies have raised capital from foreign investors by routing Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.        

Key Highlights Of Bilateral Summit 

• The talk was initiated by New Delhi to discuss strengthening of financial cooperation between two countries
• Leaders from the two countries discussed various topics ranging from encouraging tourism between the two, terrorism, and more  
• While speaking at the India Luxembourg virtual summit, PM Modi emphasised building constructive engagement to enhance Luxembourg’s economy and India’s needs 
• Three pacts were signed, including one between Luxembourg Stock Exchange, State Bank of India, and India International Stock Exchange, and a second one between LuxInnovation and Invest India 
• Both countries discussed enhancing constructive engagement in financial, fin-tech, green financing, and space application domains
• PM Modi invited Luxembourg to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an initiative by India to promote efficient solar energy consumption and reducing fossil fuel dependency. ISA has 120 member countries 
• Prime Minister also called Luxembourg to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) 

The Bottom Line 

Luxembourg is a critical economic partner of India. The two countries have a long-standing financial relationship with Luxembourg, the third-largest investor in India after the US, and Mauritius. The two countries have enjoyed close cooperation in the steel sector, with Luxembourgish company, Paul Wurth, playing a critical role in upgrading India’s steel sector and ArcelorMittal, a global giant steel-producer, also a Luxembourg company, entering a joint partnership with Nippo Steel.   

India Luxembourg summit can be a critical milestone in improving bilateral cooperation and economic condition in both countries.