Examine the role of science and technology cooperation (e.g., the ARIES-AMOS telescope project) in strengthening India's bilateral relations with European partners.

Science diplomacy — using research collaboration as an instrument of foreign policy — has become a distinct pillar of India's engagement with Europe. The remote activation of the 3.6-metre Devasthal optical telescope in Uttarakhand, built jointly by India's ARIES and Belgium's AMOS, by the two Prime Ministers in 2016 [1] shows how technical projects carry political weight.

S&T as a confidence-building instrument

• Long-gestation projects create institutional links between laboratories and firms that outlast electoral cycles in either country.
• Leader-level showcasing of the ARIES-AMOS activation converted laboratory work into visible diplomatic capital, and framed India as a capable co-developer rather than a recipient [1].

Spillover into the strategic and economic agenda

• Technological credibility widens the agenda: the first India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue (July 2026) placed innovation and technology, the green transition, defence and connectivity within a single framework [2].
• The relationship it supports is substantial — bilateral trade of USD 15.07 billion (2023-24), making Belgium India's 5th largest EU trading partner, and Belgian FDI of USD 3.94 billion (April 2000–September 2024) [3].
• The 300-plus member Belgian Economic Mission (March 2025) prioritised green technology, healthcare, defence and skilling [4].

Complementarity of capacities

• Europe brings precision engineering and design; India brings scale, observation sites and operational capability — the Devasthal partnership is the template [1].
• Renewable energy cooperation extends the same logic to the clean-energy transition [5].

Limits

• Cooperation remains largely project-specific; export controls, technology-transfer restrictions and IPR concerns cap its depth.
• S&T ties alone cannot resolve divergences on trade rules, data regimes or standards.

Science and technology cooperation is therefore a low-friction entry point that builds the trust on which trade, defence and climate agreements later rest. Institutionalising it — through joint funding windows, researcher mobility and predictable dialogue mechanisms as the Strategic Dialogue attempts [2] — would turn episodic successes into a durable Indo-European partnership, advancing SDG 9 and SDG 17.