As the Belgian Crown Princely couple wrap their week-long economic mission to India, they leave behind strengthened business ties between the two countries. Their visit took them to Pune and Mumbai, and they got a good glimpse of India along the way.
BELGA PHOTO/DIRK WAEM
In Pune on Wednesday, Crown Prince Philippe presided over the signing of the business agreement between a trade and investment agency in Antwerp, and a Pune Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture. The deal is meant to allow collaborations with firms in the two cities.
While that happened, Princess Mathilde met with local schoolchildren. Some of the little girls who were there to see her were dressed in Disney-like princess dresses.
Later, Mathilde went to the Gandhi National Memorial Society in the Agakhan Palace.
REUTERS/Manav Manglani
After Pune, the couple headed for Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. There, the Crown Princess attended the “Day of Hope” celebration, which was organized by the National Domestic Workers Movement. A non-governmental organization (NGO), the movement marks “Day of Hope” with the children of domestic workers and child domestic workers from Mumbai and Thane districts.
In the evening, Mathilde and Philippe rubbed shoulders with Bollywood stars in the likes of Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, during a fashion show, which showcased the latest in Indian style.
On Friday, the couple’s last official day in India, business and trade agreements by four Belgian and four Indian firms in the aerospace and technology sectors were signed. The Crown Prince personally witnessed these signings, which seemed to top off the week-long economic mission. It tightened the already close ties between the two countries. Belgium is India’s third biggest EU trading partner, after Germany and the United Kingdom.
The Belgian Crown Princely couple are on a week-long economic mission to India, where about 28 business agreements between the two countries are expected to take place. Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, and Monday was their first day of operation.
AP Photo/Saurabh Das
First, the couple went to Rajghat, which is the memorial to Indian independence leader Mahatama Gandhi. They paid their respects by laying a floral wreath and posing with a bust of Gandhi.
Afterward, Philippe met with India’s President Pratibha Patil and the two discussed the visit, plus other ways for India and Belgium to strengthen ties.
During the couple’s week-long visit, they will go to the cities of Pune, Mumbai and possibly Bangalore. They have been to India before for their honeymoon just over 10 years ago.
Before leaving for the country, the Crown Prince gave an interview and was asked about his impression of India.
REUTERS/B Mathur
“India is a fabulous country which has managed unity in diversity and combines its very ancient wisdom with a forward looking spirit of entrepreneurship,” Philippe said.
“I spent much time reading books on Indian history, philosophy and literature, the famous author Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen and others. I have also frequent contacts with Indian friends who keep me informed on the fascinating evolution of the country. My wife, Princess Mathilde, shares this attraction for India. We spent our honeymoon in India and came back several times afterwards. Princess Mathilde will also take part in the mission with a very interesting and varied program.”
Accompanying the royal couple on this trip are 340 Belgian business leaders and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Steven Vanackere. The sectors included in this economic mission are the automobile, aeronautics, transport infrastructure, clean technology, diamonds, renewable energy, bio-pharma, and audiovisual fields.
Belgium is India’s biggest supporter in the European Union. As of late, the country has been pushing for India to become a permanent U.N. Security Council.
The Prince and Princess of Asturias are currently on an official visit to India. They arrived Monday, and their trip is based mostly on Spanish and Indian business relations. At the same time, Felipe and Letizia opened an Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi.
MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images
But their first stop was in Mumbai for a Spain-India Managerial Forum at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Yes, that is the same hotel where terrorists killed 173 people nearly a year ago. But with the forum taking place, it could be said that things are back to normal at the hotel.
95 Spanish executives took part in the business forum. The Governor of Maharastra, the Indian state Mumbai is in, Sanayangba Chubatoshi Jamir, also was present. The forum discussed ways Spain could invest in India, despite the poor global economy.
Later on, Felipe and Letizia attended a reception for Spanish citizens living in Mumbai. They then flew north to New Delhi.
In the capital, the Crown Princely couple met with the chief of the Indian diplomacy, S.M. Krishna, and then with Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. After those two meetings, the two opened the Instituto Cervantes, a school funded by Spain’s government to teach Spanish language and culture. During the inauguration, Felipe and Letizia were entertained by a traditional Indian dancer.
After opening the school, the couple lunched with Indian President Pratibha Patil. They later visited the mausoleum of the hero of India, Mahatma Gandhi.
Felipe and Letizia’s short trip to India ended with a reception given by Spanish citizens residing in New Delhi.
India’s President, Pratibha Patil, began her state visit to the United Kingdom Tuesday, and Queen Elizabeth II welcomed her with pomp and pageantry.
AP Photo/Chris Jackson, pool
Patil first was welcomed to the country at Heathrow airport by several British dignitaries. But her real greeting came when she arrived at Windsor Castle outside London. There, she met with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip who had an entire military guard on hand to welcome the first Indian head of state to visit the UK in 20 years.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were also in attendance for the ceremony. They had traveled with Patil from Heathrow to Windsor in a car fleet.
Tonight, there will be a banquet in Patil’s honor. On Wednesday, she will meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown for talks. They will discuss ways to strengthen ties between the two nations which already have strong relations.
“Apart from the growing trade and economic relations, India and Britain cooperate well in a number of areas including education, research, science and technology,” foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters last week.
Patil is also in the UK for the beginning of the Commonwealth Games baton relay race, which will start at Buckingham Palace and end in India.
She is also only the fourth female head of state to go on a state visit to the UK. The other three were all monarchs: Queens Juliana and Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
The royal family of Spain welcomed Indian President Pratibha Patil to their country Tuesday. This is the first time an Indian leader has made a state visit to the European country.
The president is in Spain to promote economic, cultural and political ties with the country.
In a recent interview, Patil said relations between Spain and India have been gaining momentum as of late.
“We whole-heartedly support this trend. My visit to Spain is an expression of the importance that India attaches to a strong relationship with Spain,” she said.
Patil and her husband, Devisingh Ravisingh Shekhawat, were greeted by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia. The foursome then gathered in from of El Pardo palace to listen to their national anthems and watch a military parade.
They all then had lunch together, before Patil went on to meet with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
Later, there was a state dinner for the Indian leader, which was attended by Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia.
Another European royal celebrated Indian culture this week, this time in her own country. Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands launched the Amsterdam-India festival on Wednesday. This two week event is the largest celebration of Indian art and culture in Amsterdam.
The Argentinian born princess opened the event in Amsterdam’s Museum Square. After that, she attended the dance performance by Karthakali dance theater at the Royal Concertgebouw.
The Dutch paint and coatings manufacturer, AkzoNobel, helped organize this event. Being a paint company, it went out of its way to ensure that India’s love for color was as bright and vibrant as possible.
Running until November 30th, the Amsterdam-India Festival will hold concerts, exhibitions, seminars and many more to celebrate India’s unique culture.
It seems like there’s India fever with royals lately. Belgium’s King Albert II and Queen Paola just got back from a 10 day tour of the country. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden also spent nearly two weeks there last month.
After ten days of signing business deals, seeing landmarks and visiting the needy, Belgium’s King Albert II and Queen Paola said farewell to India. The visit intended to strengthen economic and academic ties with the two nations, and clearly a lot of that was done.
King Albert oversaw the signing of nuclear deals, business and academic deals. The nuclear deals came towards the end, in Chennai. The point of that deal was to promote cooperation in nuclear science for use in medical research, cancer therapy, crop mutation and applied sciences between both the Indian and the Belgian Nuclear Societies. The agreement is to be updated every five years.
During that time, Queen Paola took time to visit leprosy and HIV patients at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil-Nadu. The hands-on Queen spent three hours walking among, talking to and even touching the people often cast out by society. She assured the Rev. Sister Rita that she will made sure the facility in which the patients were staying will be taken care of by her in the future.
At the end of his tour, King Albert II stopped by the Hindu temple of Kapaleeswarar in Mylapore, Chennai. He wore traditional garments to the temple, and even said a prayer inside.
Many Indians were excited and curious to see the Belgian royal couple. No doubt this tour will remain the minds of Indians, and will indeed strengthen the relationship between both countries for years to come.
King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium are on a ten day tour of India. The visit kicked off on Sunday, November 2nd, and will last until the 12th.
This visit is expected to boost economic and academic relations with the two countries. Top CEOs and university leaders from Belgium are accompanying the royal couple.
Upon arriving in India, Queen Paola went to see the Taj Mahal by herself. When asked by photographers to sit on the bench, where many world leaders have sat for photos, the Queen refused. It is unknown why Paola did not want to sit there, but it may be because she didn’t want to cut out a solitary figure in any photographs.
On Tuesday, the King and Queen met with Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. The King had a chance to discuss bilateral and global issues with Singh, as well as the global financial crisis.
Later, the King of the Belgians addressed India’s top business leaders and entrepreneurs and made a pitch for attracting Indian investment in his country.
“A change is needed in the global financial system, with the International Monetary Fund reinventing itself in light of the current financial turmoil that is rocking the world markets,” said Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath in his address to a seminar on ‘India and Belgium – Partners in a Globalised World’.
Patil and Singh escorted the royal couple to a memorial site for Mahatma Gandhi. There, King Albert sprinkled flower petals on the site.
Wednesday saw Albert and Paola visit sacred sites in New Delhi. They went to a gurudwara (Sikh Temple) and the Laxmi Narayan Hindu temple. Later, Queen Paola paid a visit to a cancer center.
The King and Queen are expected to travel throughout India, and go to such cities as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. They will continue to promote relations between Belgium and India, a rising economic power in the world.
This is the second royal visit India has seen in less than a month. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was here, though her visit did not receive much media coverage and was not officially about strengthening diplomatic ties between Sweden and India.
After a whirlwind tour of India, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria said good-bye on Friday, fulfilling a long time dream of seeing the subcontinent.
The last days of her tour of India was in Mumbai and Jodhpur. There, Victoria stopped by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and opened the day’s trade by knocking on the ceremonial gong.
Later, Victoria got a chance to meet one of India’s biggest celebrities, Amir Khan, an actor-director from Bollywood. Before leaving for India, the princess immersed herself in Bollywood films, and came to enjoy Khan’s work. The two met before attending a dinner in Victoria’s honor.
The next and last stop on the princess’ tour was in Jodphur. She got a chance to witness more of India’s lively culture there. But at one point, the crown princess doned a turban. This was seen as rather odd to those familiar with Indian culture, as women in India do not wear turbans; the men do. The Indian media did not make a comment about this, and whatever was the reason for Victoria to wear the turban was not explained. But since no one complained, it probably was not a problem!
Victoria’s visit to India went very well, until the departure. According to Timesnow.tv, the princess was left waiting for officials to escort her to the Jet Airways plane at the airport in New Delhi. The officials then took her to the wrong terminal. When Victoria finally got onto the right plane, she was booed by waiting passengers. Jet Airways issued an apology, saying “The princess was taken to the wrong terminal by the government protocol personnel. The princess was carrying at least ten bags with her, which had delayed the flight. We on our part, have apologised to the princess.”
A good trip up until the last minute, but nonetheless, Victoria had a trip of a lifetime and she clearly enjoyed it!
The future Queen of Sweden appears to be having a spectacular time in India. Besides meeting with dignitaries and representing her country, Crown Princess Victoria is taking time to enjoy the sights and sounds of Indian history and culture.
This weekend saw Victoria stop by India’s most famous landmark, the Taj Mahal in Agra. Although she saw the site alone, Victoria was reminded of a time when her parents visited the monument of love years earlier.
“It’s fantastic to be here. My parents have been several times before and I had talked a lot of the country, “said the Princess, according to the Swedish magazine Svensk Damtidning.
After that, Victoria met with Raoul Gandhi, grandson of the assassinated Indira Gandhi.
Monday saw the princess move on to the city of Pune. There, she received a beautiful red scarf by the mayor Rajlaxmi Bhonsle during the official welcoming ceremony in the Aga Khan palace.
Later in the day, Victoria met with the Swedish Ambassador to India, Lars-Olof Lindgren, and Ashok Pathil, the headmaster of the Vikhe Pathil Memorial School. The three were entertained by the students of the school, who performed traditional Indian dancing and music.
Afterwards, Victoria helped plant a tree on the school’s grounds.
The Crown Princess still has lots to do for the remainder of her tour. Next she moves on the Mumbai and Jodhpur. Mumbai should be a particularly exciting for Victoria, as she might get to meet some Bollywood movie stars!
did not want to sit there, but it may be because she didn’t want to cut out a solitary figure in any photographs.
Narayan Hindu temple. Later, Queen Paola paid a visit to a cancer center.
whatever was the reason for Victoria to wear the turban was not explained. But since no one complained, it probably was not a problem!
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