Home India Corner Bilateral Relations Belgium Royal Couple’s India Visit: Main Focus on Business and Innovation

Belgium Royal Couple’s India Visit: Main Focus on Business and Innovation

Belgium
During the official meeting with PM, both sides discussed wide ranging bilateral and multilateral issues including India’s historic relations with Belgium.
Belgium
During the official meeting with PM, both sides discussed wide ranging bilateral and multilateral issues including India’s historic relations with Belgium.

New Delhi: When King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium landed in New Delhi on Sunday evening with a 90-member delegation, it was clear that they meant serious business.

The visit, which is taking place in the year when both nations are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic ties, is aimed at deepening the overall political and economic engagement between the two countries. The Royal couple is accompanied by six Ministers and a high powered business delegation comprising of CEOs of about 90 Belgian companies, 13 Heads of academic institutions and a 30-member media delegation.

India is looking forward to enhance bilateral ties with the European nation especially in trade and investment, with whom USD 13.28 billion worth goods were traded last fiscal.

The royal couple met President Ram Nath Kovind and held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday during their seven-day visit to New Delhi, Mumbai and Taj Mahal in Agra.

Belgium
The King and the Queen visited the iconic Taj Mahal which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

This is the Belgian King’s first state visit to India after his coronation in 2013, adding to the importance of the tour.

King Philippe’s visit comes at a time when political and business leaders in Belgium have shown increasing interest in India drawn by business opportunities and India’s growing stature in global polity. There is a strong Belgian interest in expanding trade and investment links with India and equally in attracting Indian investment into Belgium. The diamond industry in Antwerp is an important connection with India, which has now been corroborated with 18,000 Indians active in IT industries and universities in Belgium.

The Royal itinerary

The Royal couple started their program with a visit to Agra on 06 November 2017. This was followed by an official forecourt ceremony in honor of the King at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 07 November 2017. Other program elements on 7th Nov 2017 included a call on by the External Affairs Minister, meeting with the Prime Minister at Hyderabad House and call on by Vice President Venkiah Naidu and a banquet in honor of the Royal couple hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind.

During the official meeting with PM, both sides discussed wide ranging bilateral and multilateral issues including India’s historic relations with Belgium, contribution of Indian soldiers in First World War, Belgium’s support to India at the multilateral forums, India’s fight against terrorism, Migration and Mobility, Trade and Investment, India EU relations and the 14th India EU Summit, progress on the India-EU bilateral trade and investment agreement, fight against climate change and India’s views on BREXIT.

The King commended the flagship initiatives of Government of India and expressed the interest of Belgian companies to participate in programs such as Make-in-India, Clean India and the Smart Cities Program. The King formally announced Belgium’s support for India’s candidate – Judge Dalveer Bhandari for the International Court of Justice. India also expressed its support to Belgium’s candidature for the non-permanent seat in the UNSC for the period 2019-20.

Belgium
The King paid homage to Father of the Nation at Raj Ghat and laid a wreath at the India Gate.

The King paid homage to Father of the Nation at Raj Ghat and laid a wreath at the India Gate. He also inaugurated an exhibition titled, ‘India & Belgium on the Centenary of Great War’ at Manekshaw Center and released a coffee-table book ‘India in Flanders Fields’ to commemorate the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers in defence of Belgium in First World War. Queen Mathilde, apart from the official activities in the company of the King devoted time to visit the ‘Childline’ facility at Gurugram.

Important agreements

In all about 38 Agreements covering smart cities, academic and business cooperation will be signed during the visit. A total of 13 business seminars are being organized – 8 in Delhi and 5 in Mumbai. The seminars in Delhi will focus on the making smart use of scarce resources, personalized healthcare for all, innovation, industry 4.0, sustainability and trade, S&T cooperation, Belgian technologies for heavy industry and food processing. The seminars in Mumbai will focus on best practices for diamond trade, solutions for smart cities and industries, life sciences and healthcare, digitization and exploring business opportunities in India.

The King and the Queen will also visit the memorial of the victims of the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai.