Crown Prince Philippe Meets Saudi King Abdullah

Crown Prince Philippe was received by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah today as part of the Belgian royal heir’s economic mission to the Middle East. He will be in the region for about a week in hopes of expanding Belgium’s business ties there.

But first, Philippe met with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and they had talks about their countries bilateral ties. The Crown Prince was accompanied by a large Belgian delegation of 250 people that included former Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

One of the things the King and the Crown Prince discussed was interfaith issues. Philippe praised King Abdullah for creating events for interfaith dialogue, as he did last year in Spain. Even Leterme lauded the King for his efforts.

In addition, there were talks of the Mideast peace process, oil and other business ties.

“We discussed precisely the volatility of oil prices and about the diversification of energy supplies in Europe. Several regional issues were also taken up during discussions,” Leterme told reporters at the Belgian embassy.“We also made an assessment of our bilateral relations, which are very good,”

Business deals will be signed during the Crown Prince’s stay, which would last five days.

Then, he is off to the United Arab Emirates, where Philippe will continue to do his Belgian economic mission. He will also meet up with wife Crown Princess Mathilde in Abu Dhabi.