Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on 30 October 2026 met representatives of the diamond industry at the Embassy of India in Brussels, reaffirming that India and Belgium share deep-rooted, complementary roles in the global diamond value chain. The informal interaction, confirmed by the Department of Commerce, centred on evolving market trends, trade opportunities, and the long-term outlook for international diamond commerce.

Key Themes of the Brussels Interaction

During the meeting, Agrawal reviewed the current state of the global diamond market with industry stakeholders and sought direct feedback on the opportunities and challenges facing the trade. The discussion spanned emerging demand patterns, business prospects, and developments in key consuming markets.

The Commerce Secretary underscored India's pivotal role in diamond cutting and polishing — a segment in which the country processes the overwhelming majority of the world's rough diamonds — while acknowledging Belgium's continued importance as a global trading and distribution hub for precious stones. According to the Department of Commerce, Agrawal 'exchanged views with industry members on global diamond trade, emerging market trends, and highlighted the long-standing India-Belgium linkages in the diamond value chain.'

Broader India-Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Ties

The Brussels interaction came alongside a wider diplomatic and economic engagement. Earlier in the same week, the 19th session of the India-Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was held in Luxembourg. The session brought together officials from all three sides to review bilateral trade and investment relations and chart a course for deeper cooperation.

Discussions at the JEC covered a broad spectrum of priority sectors: logistics (including air connectivity and ports), renewable energy and clean technology, financial services and FinTech, digital transformation and ICT, healthcare and life sciences, Ayurveda and traditional medicine, and the agro and food processing industry. The three nations also agreed to strengthen cooperation in aerospace, research, innovation, and higher education, signalling an intent to move beyond traditional trade into knowledge-intensive sectors.

Why the India-Belgium Diamond Link Matters

India and Belgium have historically anchored opposite ends of the diamond pipeline. Surat in Gujarat processes an estimated 90% of the world's rough diamonds by volume, making India indispensable to the global supply chain. Antwerp, Belgium's diamond capital, has for centuries served as the world's foremost trading and brokerage hub, with the Antwerp World Diamond Centre facilitating a substantial share of global rough and polished stone transactions.

This complementarity means that shifts in either country's regulatory environment, labour economics, or trade policy carry outsized consequences for the global gem trade. The Commerce Secretary's outreach comes at a particularly sensitive juncture: the international diamond market has been navigating softening demand from China and the United States, rising competition from lab-grown diamonds, and post-pandemic inventory adjustments across the supply chain.

What to Watch Next

The engagement in Brussels and Luxembourg is expected to feed into formal trade negotiation channels, including the ongoing India-European Union Free Trade Agreement discussions, where gems and jewellery remain a sensitive sector. Industry stakeholders will be watching whether the diplomatic momentum translates into concrete measures — such as eased certification norms, enhanced customs cooperation, or bilateral investment protections — that can shore up the natural diamond trade against structural headwinds.