NEW DELHI: Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Europe had undergone a “rude awakening” over the risks of trade dependencies, acknowledging that India had warned European countries about the issue earlier but that the warning was not heeded.Speaking about the prospects of a deeper India-Europe strategic partnership, De Wever said the two sides face similar challenges, particularly as economic dependencies are increasingly being used as leverage.“We face the same challenges. We are confronted with the same power blocks that are going in a certain direction, a direction that we maybe do not like and we do not like to be pushed around. We do not like dependencies becoming weaponized against us,” he said.The Belgian PM then pointed to India’s earlier warnings to Europe.“You have lived this history. Uh your prime minister warned Europe about this long time ago already, but he was ignored. He wasn’t listened to. We are listening now. It’s a bit late maybe in Europe this awakening, but it is happening,” De Wever said.He was responding to a question on why Europe and India could build a durable strategic partnership at a time when the global economy is fragmenting, and why India should choose Europe as a long-term partner for trade, investment, technology and supply-chain resilience.De Wever said Europe was now actively looking for partners that continued to believe in multilateralism and cooperation based on “respect and not force”.“with who in the world with which large economy in the world can we develop that kind of a relationship well if India is not on the list on that list then you have missed something very fundamental. India is on that list. It’s number one,” he said.He described India as the world’s largest and fastest-growing economy, with a large pool of talent and significant scope for future cooperation. He contrasted this with more mature economies such as Japan, saying India offered substantial opportunities for mutually beneficial growth.Earlier in his address, De Wever said Europe’s recent experience with trade and industrial dependencies had been a “rude awakening”.“For too long, Europe looked on as overcapacity was dumped below cost on our market, as its industrial base was undermined, and as dependencies were deliberately built up so that they could be used as leverage,” he said.“The country that has profited most from that practice does not lie very far from here. It’s a neighbor you all know. And India saw this earlier than we did and they warned us and we didn’t listen. And we’re drawing our conclusions now late but we’re drawing them nonetheless,” he added, taking a veiled dig at China.De Wever said defending national interests was essential to maintaining the trust required for free trade, arguing that openness could not mean ignoring strategic dependencies. He said Europe and India had different histories, institutions and strategic outlooks, but that their interests converged in several areas.“India is a major democratic power, a leader in innovation, a voice that cannot be missing when a free and prosperous world is shaped,” he said, adding that Europe brought its single market, industrial and technological capacity, and commitment to predictable, rules-based cooperation.He said the two sides should seek more diversified trade with partners that honour their commitments, adding: “In a world where too many countries are being asked to choose a camp, India and Europe choose partnership decisively.”
