India, March 4 -- India and Belgium are hoping to finalise a defence agreement within the year to bolster cooperation between their armed forces and to enhance defence industrial collaboration, Belgian defence minister Theo Francken said on Tuesday.

Such an agreement will be a "very big step" towards facilitating structural cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries and creating a framework for collaboration between defence industries, Francken told a media briefing, speaking alongside Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot.

The two ministers were part of a Belgian delegation led by Princess Astrid that met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Francken said Modi suggested the two sides form a task force for finalising...