UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India and Belgium ramp up bilateral defence cooperation

Question 1

During the visit of the Belgian Prime Minister to India in early September 2026, how many defence agreements were concluded at the government-to-government level between India and Belgium?

Accepted Answer

Three

Answer

Two

Answer

Ten

Answer

Fifteen

Question 2

The Letter of Intent concluded during the September 2026 India–Belgium summit, which creates the framework for staff talks, service training and defence-industrial partnership, was signed between which two authorities?

Accepted Answer

The Ministries of Defence of India and of Belgium

Answer

The Ministry of Defence of India and Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

Answer

The Defence Research and Development Organisation and Belgium's Royal Higher Institute for Defence

Answer

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India and the Government of Flanders, Belgium

Question 3

Consider the following persons and the offices attributed to them in the context of India–Belgium engagement during 2025–26:
1. Bart De Wever — Prime Minister of Belgium
2. Theo Francken — Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade
3. Matthias Diependaele — Minister-President of the Flanders region
4. Princess Astrid — Belgium's Minister for Foreign Affairs
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 only

Answer

2 and 4

Question 4

Consider the following statements about India–Belgium ministerial-level engagements during 2025–26:
1. India's Defence Minister held talks in New Delhi with Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade during the Belgian Prime Minister's September 2026 visit.
2. India's Commerce and Industry Minister met the Minister-President of Flanders in Brussels in 2025, with semiconductors, clean energy and defence production on the agenda.
3. Princess Astrid of Belgium met the Prime Minister of India during her March 2025 visit, when trade, technology, defence, life sciences and skilling were flagged as areas of shared ambition.
4. The India–Belgium Strategic Dialogue of July 2026 was co-chaired by the Defence Ministers of the two countries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 5

Consider the following statements about the sequence of India–Belgium engagements in 2025–26:
1. Princess Astrid of Belgium visited India in March 2025 and was received by the Prime Minister.
2. The visit of the Belgian frigate LEOPOLD I to India had already been completed before the Belgian Prime Minister's visit to India.
3. The India–Belgium Strategic Dialogue was held on 15 July 2026.
4. The Belgian Prime Minister's India visit took place from 2 to 4 September 2026.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 only

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

3 only

Question 6

Under the professional military education exchanges agreed in the India–Belgium defence framework of September 2026, which Indian tri-service institution is to undertake a study tour to Belgium in October 2026?

Accepted Answer

The College of Defence Management, Secunderabad

Answer

The National Defence College, New Delhi

Answer

The Defence Services Staff College, Wellington

Answer

The Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala

Question 7

Consider the following statements regarding the economic understandings reached between India and Belgium in September 2026:
1. An Investment Fast-Track Mechanism was set up to facilitate Belgian investments in India.
2. The two sides declared an intent to double bilateral trade over the following five years.
3. Bilateral merchandise trade stood at about USD 13 billion in 2025-26.
4. Belgium agreed to negotiate a standalone India–Belgium free trade agreement independent of the India–EU trade deal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 8

Consider the following pairs relating to the commercial and maritime dimension of India–Belgium relations:
1. Antwerp — the global diamond-trading hub whose commerce links it to Mumbai and Surat
2. Port of Antwerp-Bruges — the Belgian entity explored as a partner of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority
3. Bharat Diamond Bourse — the Mumbai institution included in the visiting Belgian Prime Minister's itinerary
4. Flanders — the Belgian region whose Minister-President also holds the federal Foreign Trade portfolio
Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 and 3

Question 9

During the Belgian Prime Minister's September 2026 India visit, Kalyani Strategic Systems entered into a strategic alliance to explore collaboration on the unguided and laser-guided variants of a 70-mm rocket system. That alliance was signed with which firm?

Accepted Answer

Thales

Answer

FN Herstal

Answer

John Cockerill Defense

Answer

SABCA

Question 10

Consider the following statements about the defence-industrial component of the India–Belgium engagement of September 2026:
1. Around fifteen Belgian defence companies formed part of the visiting delegation.
2. Belgium agreed to transfer submarine-construction technology to Indian shipyards.
3. Production of Belgian-origin rocket systems in India was among the expected private-sector outcomes.
4. The defence framework agreed covers military training, officer exchanges, research and development and joint exercises.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 11

Consider the following statements about the positions articulated by India and Belgium at their September 2026 summit:
1. A call was made for dialogue and diplomacy to bring the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia to an end.
2. Both sides underlined the safety and security of maritime routes and unimpeded shipping.
3. The two sides agreed to widen cooperation into critical minerals and clean-energy technologies.
4. The two sides jointly announced coercive economic measures against parties to the West Asia conflict.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 4

Question 12

Consider the following statements about the long-standing dimensions of India–Belgium relations as reflected in the September 2026 summit:
1. The visit was the first by a Belgian Prime Minister to India in about two decades.
2. Tributes were paid to over 9,000 Indian soldiers who died in Flanders Fields during the First World War.
3. The diamond trade connecting Antwerp with Mumbai and Surat was acknowledged as an enduring pillar of the relationship.
4. Belgium was India's largest trading partner within the European Union in 2025-26.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 only

Answer

3 and 4

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India and Belgium ramp up bilateral defence cooperation

Q1. During the visit of the Belgian Prime Minister to India in early September 2026, how many defence agreements were concluded at the government-to-government level between India and Belgium?

Q2. The Letter of Intent concluded during the September 2026 India–Belgium summit, which creates the framework for staff talks, service training and defence-industrial partnership, was signed between which two authorities?

Q6. Under the professional military education exchanges agreed in the India–Belgium defence framework of September 2026, which Indian tri-service institution is to undertake a study tour to Belgium in October 2026?

Q9. During the Belgian Prime Minister's September 2026 India visit, Kalyani Strategic Systems entered into a strategic alliance to explore collaboration on the unguided and laser-guided variants of a 70-mm rocket system. That alliance was signed with which firm?