Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (March 3, 2025) met Princess Astrid of Belgium and his Belgian counterpart Theo Francken.
The sister of Belgium’s King Philippe, Princess Astrid is on a go to to India from March 2 to March 8. She was obtained by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal upon her arrival on Sunday (March 2, 2025).
During her go to, Princess Astrid will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
EAM S. Jaishankar met Princess Astrid of Belgium on Monday (March 3, 2025). In a put up on X the EAM wrote, “Delighted to meet Princess Astrid of Belgium, leading an economic mission to India. Confident that her visit will foster greater collaborations for a stronger India – Belgium and India – EU partnership.”
She may also go to numerous states, together with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi, in line with an announcement from the External Affairs Ministry (MEA).
According to the Belgian Ambassador to India, Didier Vanderhasselt, the Princess can be on a Belgian financial mission to India, travelling with a delegation of 335 members and 180 corporations. Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, may also be half of the financial 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,” stated Mr. Vanderhasselt.
The Belgian envoy additional talked about that a minimum of 14 seminars and conferences will concentrate on sectors resembling renewable vitality, defence, eco-construction, life sciences, and metal decarbonisation. “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 instructed ANI.
Princess Astrid, the second baby of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and sister to King Philippe, leads Belgium’s financial missions as consultant of the King. “These missions contribute to the development of economic and trade relations between Belgium and its regions and numerous foreign partners,” in line with an announcement from the Belgian Monarchy.
She is the Honorary President of the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation (QEMF) and helps the King Baudouin Foundation’s Scientific and Medical Funds. To help elementary medical analysis in numerous fields, Princess Astrid maintains contacts with the scientific world, visiting numerous websites and collaborating in award ceremonies.
Published – March 03, 2025 05:14 pm IST
