Hosted by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the celebration of seven decades of bilateral relations between Luxembourg and India was co-organised by the Indian Business Chamber of Luxembourg and the Indian embassy in Brussels.

Guest speakers at the event included the chair of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce Michel Wurth. Delano’s sister publication Paperjam reported on the event. In a welcome address, Wurth told guests that Luxembourg is an important hub for Indian companies seeking to gain a foothold in Europe. He explained that conversely, some 17 Luxembourg business have some sort of presence in India, most notably Paul Wurth

Finance minister Pierre Gramegna (DP), a former head of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, said that with the current resurgence of the protectionism, “it is important that major countries show that they believe in globalisation as vector of growth "

Indian ambassador to Luxembourg Gaitri Issar Kumar explained that her country, too, is one of the most open to foreign investment. Indeed, investment in fintech startups in 2017 amounted to $1.5 billion, she said.

The ambassador also warned that everyone should be prepared for a profound change, or even the disappearance altogether, of traditional banking institutions as we know them over the next 5 to 10 years.

Looking ahead, next year Luxembourg will be the first non-Asian country to host the annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. And another economic mission from Luxembourg to India is also in the pipeline for 2019.