more-in Flanders in Belgium has the presence of 80 Indian companies. About 150 Belgium-based companies are operating in India, said Jayant Nadiger, Trade and Investment Commissioner for South India, Flanders Investment and Trade based in Bengaluru, here on Wednesday. At a session on ‘Invest in Flanders’- South India Roadshow 2018, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said that apart from diamonds, other areas for potential trade partnership between India and Belgium were automotive, aerospace, food processing and manufacturing. Flanders was the logistics hub and the gateway to Europe. “Antwerp is the second largest petro chemicals hub in the world, while Zeebrugge is the largest car handling port in the world with roll-on, roll-off capabilities. We have high-end technologies and are keen to partner with companies in this region in this segment,” Mr. Nadiger said. Production hub Mark Van De Vreken, the Consul-General of Belgium, based in Chennai, said Flanders was the major production hub nearer to Germany. It was logistically well connected with European countries to move products to the end users at a faster pace. Flanders was looking at close tie-ups with the business and trade in South India as both have a number of family run small and medium-scale businesses. He said that the Belgium Diplomat office in Mumbai processes visa applications. And if there were any problems related to visa, the applicants can get in touch with him over mail. Filippe De Potter, Deputy Director – Inward Investment, Flanders Investment and Trade, Brussels, said as many as 150 companies from US and 300 companies from Japan invested in Flanders during the 1970s and 1980s because it had the geographical advantage. V.N. Vijayaraghavan, Managing Director of I M Gears Pvt Limited and an investor in Flanders, said it was the destination for ease of doing business.

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