Modi pays tribute to Brussels attack victims, holds talks with Belgian PM

Brussels: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here Wednesday for a hectic day-long visit during which he attended the India-EU Summit and held bilateral talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel.

Modi laid a wreath at the Maelbeek train station in Brussels where Chennai techie Raghavendran Ganeshan lost his life in the blast and was among 13 killed in a terror attack last week.

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"In remembrance of those men and women who lost their lives due to mindless violence in Brussels," the Prime Minister's office tweeted along with pictures of Modi laying the wreath.

Modi, flanked by Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, bowed his head and clasped his hands together in tribute to the victims of the suicide blasts.

"At a time of grief, India stands in solidarity. Before official engagements, PM lays wreath at Maalbeek metro station," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

At the Maalbeek Metro Station, the Prime Minister remembered Ganeshan and other victims of tragic attack, Swarup said.

Here are the latest updates:

4:30 pm: Narendra Modi holds talks with Belgian counterpart Charles Michel.

4:15 pm: A ceremonial welcome for Narendra Modi in Brussels.

4:00 pm: Modi lays wreath at the Maelbeek Metro Station in Brussels, the site of a terror attack where a suicide bomber had blown himself up last week.

3:30 pm: Narendra Modi meets select members of the European and Belgian Parliaments.

10:30 am: Narendra Modi warmly welcomed by Indian community in Brussels.

9:40 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given a guard of honour upon his arrival in Brussels for the first leg of his three nation tour of Belgium, United States and Saudi Arabia.

9:30 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Belgium for a day-long visit to attend the India-EU Summit.

Modi's visit comes days after the March 22 terror attack here in which at least 32 people were killed, including an Indian, Raghavendran Ganeshan, who was an Infosys employee from Bengaluru.

The 13th India-EU Summit is being held after a gap of four years. The last Summit was held in New Delhi in 2012 and negotiations remained deadlocked over several key issues. Besides firming up India-EU counter-terror partnership, the Summit here is expected to evince interest in other projects like cleaning of Ganga on the lines of River Rhine and Danube.

Read: Modi can be a major ally in war against terror: EU lawmakers

EU is India's biggest trading partner as a bloc with trade amounting to USD 126 billion and it is also India's largest export destination with exports worth USD 65 billion.

It is the largest source of FDI in India at USD 69 billion. Soon after his arrival, Modi has a series of meetings lined up including one with indologists along with a meeting with members of the European Parliament and the Belgian Parliament.

On the eve of the Prime Minister's visit, the EU said in a statement that "the Summit in Brussels will be an opportunity to re-launch relations and make concrete progress on areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, energy, climate, water and migration."

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"India-EU Summit and strong economic & investment ties with Belgium will be on the agenda during my Brussels visit," Modi had said before embarking on his visit.

He had hailed the "resilience and spirit" of its people in the wake of the horrific Brussels bombings and said India stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with them.

After Belgium, Prime Minister will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented.

Read: Nuclear Summit to discuss threat caused by N-terrorism: Modi

On April 2 and 3, he will be visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for a two-day visit with a focus on boosting energy and security cooperation. .

Prime Minister Modi will also visit the Masmak Fortress, 'L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh.