India and Luxembourg have discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in space and exploring new areas of collaboration, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced materials and life sciences.
Luxembourg Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism Lex Delles, who is currently visiting India, called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Minister of State for the Department of Space Dr Jitendra Singh in New Delhi on Monday.
During the meeting, Delles proposed identifying concrete areas of collaboration, particularly in the space sector and other emerging technologies.
The proposed mechanism could also help develop specific areas of cooperation ahead of the proposed State Visit of Luxembourg to India in January 2027.
The two Ministers discussed the current status of India-Luxembourg cooperation in space, future developments in the sector, opportunities for greater institutional and commercial collaboration and preparations for the proposed State Visit.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the warmth and strong foundation of India-Luxembourg relations provided a favourable basis for taking bilateral cooperation into newer and deeper areas.
He also recalled the virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Luxembourg counterpart in 2020.
Singh highlighted the considerable common ground between the two countries in science, technology and innovation and said their respective strengths could be brought together in emerging areas with potential for mutual benefit.
Space remains an important pillar of the bilateral partnership. India and Luxembourg signed an MoU in February 2022 on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
The partnership has also developed a commercial dimension, including communication satellite transponder leasing and the launch of two Luxembourg satellites on commercial terms onboard the PSLV.
IN-SPACe and the Luxembourg Space Agency have also been engaging to promote greater interaction between the space ecosystems of the two countries.
Singh shared India’s broader space roadmap, including the importance of navigation and communication satellites in the near term and the country’s long-term ambition of establishing an Indian space station by 2035 and undertaking a human landing on the Moon by 2040.
He said the expanding participation of the private sector in India’s space programme was opening up new possibilities for international and commercial partnerships.
The two sides discussed opportunities for greater engagement between Luxembourg’s space industry and India’s expanding private space ecosystem.
Potential areas identified included Earth observation imagery, communication transponders, commercial satellite and satellite-subsystem realisation, launch vehicle services, ground stations and mission support.
Luxembourg-based companies, including SES, are already engaged with Indian entities and IN-SPACe on opportunities related to satellite capacity, user terminals, and satellite and ground subsystems.
Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing also emerged as important areas of potential cooperation.
Singh spoke about India’s efforts to expand computing capacity, procure additional GPUs and develop indigenous large language models suited to the country’s linguistic diversity.
The Luxembourg side shared its plans for a new AI-oriented high-performance computing facility and expressed interest in greater interaction with the private sector. The two sides discussed the possibility of connecting Indian and Luxembourg companies and institutions working in this area.
Quantum technologies were also discussed as an area offering significant scope for collaboration.
Singh highlighted India’s National Quantum Mission and progress in quantum communication, computing and sensing. He said quantum technologies have applications across sectors, including healthcare, security and space.
He also identified optical communication in conjunction with the space sector as a potentially promising area of cooperation between India and Luxembourg.
In life sciences and biotechnology, Singh highlighted India’s BioE3 policy and the country’s focus on biotechnology-led economic and scientific development.
He referred to potential collaboration with Luxembourg institutions such as the Luxembourg Institute of Health and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, particularly in areas including neurodegenerative diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
Singh also spoke about India’s growing public-private approach to vaccine development and medical research and the recent opening up of nuclear medicine research to the private sector.
He said these developments could create further opportunities for international institutions and industry to participate in areas of wider health relevance.
Minister Lex Delles highlighted Luxembourg’s growing engagement with India in space, satellite communications, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and high-performance computing.
He also discussed opportunities for Luxembourg companies to deepen their activities in India and stressed the importance of greater interaction between government institutions and private-sector ecosystems of the two countries.
The two sides also discussed the proposed State Visit of Luxembourg to India in January 2027 as an opportunity to provide greater momentum to bilateral cooperation.
Dr Jitendra Singh suggested that the Embassy remain engaged with the concerned Indian institutions so that areas of mutual interest could be identified in advance and specific proposals developed for discussion during the visit.
The meeting reflected the expanding scope of India-Luxembourg cooperation from the established space partnership to emerging areas such as AI, quantum technologies, life sciences and advanced technologies, with both sides exploring practical avenues to connect their institutions, research ecosystems and industries.
