Increasingly, Luxembourg has become one of India’s most important bilateral partner nations in Europe. Today, the Grand Duchy which celebrated 70 years of diplomatic relations with India in 2018-2019, ranks 15th among the top foreign direct investors in India, according to statistics published by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Luxembourg. In 2019, the New Delhi consulate ranked first among all Luxembourg consulates worldwide when it came to processing Schengen (also situated in Luxembourg) visa applications for Europe. The latest official statistics ranks the Indian community 14th among the foreign nationals living and working in Luxembourg, compared to 27th in 2015—a very significant climb. Also, 2019 was the celebratory year of the 90th anniversary of Luxembourg’s first vice-consulate in Bombay that was established on November 5, 1929.

As H.E. Mr Jean Claude Kugener, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, points out in his eloquent cover interview, the two nations recently had a very successful Joint Economic Commission in New Delhi. “Our relations are very strong in steel, automotive, manufacturing, space, finance, ICT, clean-tech and health technologies,” he reiterates on the occasion of the Grand Duchy’s National Day on June 23. That is the day when the nation celebrates the official birthday of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.