India & Luxembourg Bilateral

India-Luxembourg Bilateral Relations

India and Luxembourg enjoy warm, close and friendly tiessince the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948. Bilateral relations of India and Luxembourg are rooted in shared commitment to Rule of Law and democratic values,appreciation of each other's concerns and commonality of views on major bilateral and multilateral issues. Luxembourg opened its Embassy in Delhi in 2002 and has Honorary Consulates in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Political Relations:

Recent high Level visits from India to Luxembourg include those of Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. (Retd) Dr. V. K. Singh who led the Indian delegation to the 12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Luxembourg from November 4-7, 2015. Minister of State (IC) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar visited Luxembourg to attend the Major Economies Forum, from July 18-19, 2015. Earlier, Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Preneet Kaur, visited Luxembourg on 18 April, 2012.

Rashtrapatiji Shri K.R. Narayanan paid a State visit to Luxembourg in 1998. From Luxembourg, the then Grand Duke Jean (father of the incumbent Grand Duke Henri) visited India in March 1983 along with the Grand Duchess, as the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee. HRH Grand Duke Henri led an economic delegation to India in May 1995 as the then Crown Prince. Mr. Jean Claude Juncker, as the Prime Minister of Luxembourg paid an official visit to India in 1999. Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Mr. Jean Asselborn paid an official visit to India in March 2015. Mr. Asselborn also attended the 11th ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi in November 2013. Deputy Prime Ministerof Luxembourg (incharge of economy)Mr. Etienne Schneider led a Trade Mission from Feb 29-March 4, 2016 to India.

Earlier, Mr Georges Wohlfart, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg visited India in October 1995, May 1996 and April 1997. Mr. Jeannot Krecke, Luxembourg's Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade led an economic delegation visited India in 2007 and from 9-14 January 2010. Mr. Luc Frieden, Minister of Budget and Treasury visited India in January 2007.

Parliamentary Interactions:

ThePresident of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg Mr. Laurent Mosarled a Parliamentary delegation to India from 28 February - 2 March 2012.Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar led a high level Parliamentary Delegation to Luxembourg from June 10-13, 2010 and held bilateral consultations with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Mr. Jean Claude Juncker.

Economic & Commercial relations:

The main vehicle of our bilateral economic interaction with Luxembourg is the biennial Economic Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and the Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union. Several areas of bilateral economic relations are discussed under this framework including market access issues and cooperation in a wide range of sectors. The 14th JCM took place in New Delhi on 28th September 2015.

Bilateral trade between India and Luxembourg, during January-December 2015, stood at € 45.82 million (USD 50.86 million).In the current year, during January-April 2016, bilateral trade stood at € 15.83 million (USD 17.57 million) India's exports to Luxembourg mainly constituted of engineering products, textiles and garments, and chemicals while India mainly imported engineering goods, base metals, plastics and articles.

FDI flows from Luxembourg to India between April 2000 and March 2016 were about US$ 2,046 million, making it the 13th most important investor in India. Luxembourg invests in computer software/hardware, chemicals, steel and in the automobiles sectors.

Presently about 17 Luxembourg companies are operating in India. Paul Wurth (a Luxembourg company), has been in India for the last two decades and playing an important role in upgrading the steel sector in India. Recently, in March 2016, Deputy PM and Minister of Economy, Mr Etienne Schneider visited India accompanied by a trade delegation. During his visit, a MoU was signed between Paul Wurth and Heavy engineering Corporation Ltd. Other Luxembourg based important companies in India are: Arcelor Mittal, Dometic, CNPV Solar Power and Koch Chemical Technology Group (John Zink International Luxembourg).

Luxembourg presents huge opportunities to Indian IT companies interested in serving the EU market. Major Indian IT companies - TCS, Damco solutions, Tech Mahindra and Wipro -have already set up successful operations in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is one of the world's most important financial centers. 74 Indian companies have raised capital by issuing Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.It includes top Indian companies, such as Reliance Industries, Tata companies, Larsens & Toubro and Hindalco. Total market capitalisation of Indian GDRs listed in Luxembourg has reached Euro 12.789 billion.

Chennai is the Indian hub for Luxembourg's all-cargo airline Cargolux, Europe's leading all-cargo airline. Mumbai has also been added to Cargolux network recently. Many Indian freight forwarders work with Cargolux to route their European exports efficiently and rapidly (garments, shoes, machinery, original spare parts for European car makers, etc.). An aviation agreement was signed in 2004 to formalize this relationship

People to People contacts:

The Indian Diaspora in Luxembourg consists of highly skilled workers and numbers around 1200. There are nearly 500 Indian passport holders who work in Arcelor-Mittal, Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services,Good Year, Temenos; Banks such as in BNP, HSBC and other services sectors. Indian students are pursuing research and post-doctoral studies in the University of Luxembourg. In March 2009, an Indian Business Chamber of Luxembourg (IBCL) was constituted to promote commercial relations between India and Luxembourg. The Chamber facilitates business activities and assists Indian companies in the setting up of business ventures in Luxembourg. Indian Association in Luxembourg is set to celebrate twenty five years of its establishment this year.

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