New Delhi [India], February 27 (ANI): The sister of Belgium’s King Philippe, Princess Astrid, is set to visit India from March 2 to March 8, meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, EAM Jaishankar, and visiting various states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi.
According to a statement from the External Affairs Ministry (MEA), the Princess will be arriving in Delhi on Friday early morning at 1.30 AM at IGI airport, and for the next two days she will be attending programs in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.
She will be on a Belgian Economic Mission to India, travelling with a delegation of 335 members and 180 companies, according to the Belgium Ambassador to India, Didier Vanderhasselt. Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot will also be part of the economic mission with the princess.
“It is the highest format that we have on the Belgian side, led by H.H. Princess Astrid as the representative of the king. Our new Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister, and other ministers will also be accompanying the delegation of 335 members and 180 companies,” said Vanderhasselt.
The Belgian envoy further mentioned that that there will be atleast 14 seminars an conferences which will focus on sectors such as renewable energy, defence, eco-construction, life sciences, and decarbonisation of steel.
“We are going towards a more intense and strategic relationship between the EU and India and also between Belgium and India. We need reliable partners all over the world. India has a very impressive growth of 5-7% every year. So India is very high on our priority list, and it is certainly on the map when it comes to our economic actors,” the Belgian envoy told ANI.
The itinerary released by the MEA’s statement also highlights the princess visiting the Travancore Palace in New Delhi. The palace is the former residence of the Maharaja of Travancore, at Kasturba Gandhi Marg in the national capital.
On March 3 (Monday), she will be meeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at noon at Hyderabad house. On March 4 (Tuesday), she will be meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Following the official meeting, the next two days (March 5-6), the Princess will be participating in programs in Mumabi, Maharashtra. Following the meeting, on the next day, she will be have a courtesy meeting with Maharashtra governor C P Radhakrishnan.
The princess will be departing from India on March 8.
Princess Astrid, the second child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and sister to King Philippe, leads Belgium’s economic missions as representative of the King. These missions contribute to the development of economic and trade relations between Belgium and its regions and numerous foreign partners, according to a statement from the Belgian Monarchy.
She is the Honorary President of the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation (QEMF), and supports the King Baudouin Foundation’s Scientific and Medical Funds. To support fundamental medical research in various fields, Princess Astrid maintains contacts with the scientific world, visiting various sites and participating in award ceremonies.
She also commits to fighting against epidemics and pandemics as the Special Envoy of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partnership, and is also the Honorary Chairwoman of the Damian Action against leprosy and tuberculosis. (ANI)
