'PM Modi warned us': Belgium PM on trade threat to Europe, takes veiled dig at China

NEW DELHI: Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Europe had undergone a “rude awakening” over the risks of trade dependencies, acknowledging that India had warned European countries about the issue earlier but that the warning was not heeded.Speaking about the prospects of a deeper India-Europe strategic partnership, De Wever said the two sides face similar challenges, particularly as economic dependencies are increasingly being used as leverage.“We face the same challenges. We are confronted with the same power blocks that are going in a certain direction, a direction that we maybe do not like and we do not like to be pushed around. We do not like dependencies becoming weaponized against us,” he said.The Belgian PM then pointed to India's earlier warnings to Europe.“You have lived this history. Uh your prime minister warned Europe about this long time ago already, but he was ignored. He wasn't listened to.