In which year were diplomatic relations between India and Belgium established, as recalled in the joint statement?

The correct answer is Belgium. The joint statement records that Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium, was on an official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was his first visit to India after he assumed office in February 2025, and he was accompanied by Theo Francken, the Belgian Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, together with officials and business leaders. The Netherlands and Luxembourg in options A and C are neighbours of Belgium and are often confused with it in the examination hall; Luxembourg is also part of the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union that the statement mentions, but its Prime Minister did not make this visit. Denmark in option D has no part in this release at all. A useful anchor is that the visitor laid a wreath at Rajghat before his talks with the Indian Prime Minister.

The correct answer is 2028-29. The joint statement sets out a straight exchange of support: India will contest a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2028-29 term, and Belgium for the 2037-2038 term, with each backing the other. Option D is therefore the term Belgium will contest, not India, and it is the distractor most candidates fall for because both figures appear in the same sentence of the release. Options A and C are not mentioned anywhere. The passage carries a second point that is frequently asked alongside this one: Belgium reaffirmed its support for India's candidature for permanent membership of a reformed and expanded Security Council, and both sides stressed that the Council must be reformed so that it represents the world as it is today, with the United Nations Charter at the centre of multilateral order.

The correct answer is the India-Belgium Civil Nuclear Liability Treaty, which does not exist in this release. The joint statement lists what was actually concluded. A Letter of Intent was signed between the Defence Ministries of the two countries, giving a framework for staff talks, training, education, research and defence-industrial partnerships, and building on an understanding the two Defence Ministers reached in March 2025. An MoU was signed between India's Central Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Police of Belgium on transnational organised crime, cybercrime and the tracing of fugitives. The India-Belgium Investment Fast-Track Mechanism was launched to clear bottlenecks facing investors in both directions. A renewed MoU on renewable energy cooperation was also welcomed. Nuclear energy is mentioned only as an area of expanding economic interest, never as a treaty, so option C is the odd one out.

The correct answer is Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, who signed for the Government of India. Option A is wrong, and it is the trap in this question: Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, features in the same day's news, but his role was to announce jointly with Uruguay the launch of negotiations for expanding the Preferential Trade Agreement, not to sign the Protocol. Option C is wrong because Mario Lubetkin, the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, was present in the exercise of the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR and witnessed the signing rather than signing himself. Option D is wrong in a different way: Alberto Guani, the Ambassador of Uruguay to India, did sign, but for the MERCOSUR side and not for India, along with Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos, the Ambassador of Paraguay. Representatives from the embassies of Argentina and Brazil were also present at the ceremony.

The correct answer is 1 June 2009. Candidates must keep two dates apart here, because both appear in the same sentence of the release. Option A, 25 January 2004, is the date on which the Preferential Trade Agreement was signed, and a gap of more than five years separated signature from entry into force. Option C is wrong because 27 November 2025 was the date of the fourth meeting of the Joint Administrative Committee of the agreement, where both sides first supported the idea of allowing digital Certificates of Origin. Option D is wrong because 9 April 2026 was the date of the fifth meeting of the same Committee, at which the proposal for the Additional Protocol was adopted by mutual consent. Reading the four dates as a single sequence helps: signed in 2004, in force in 2009, idea supported in 2025, proposal adopted in 2026 and the Protocol signed in September 2026.