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His Royal Highness Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium called on the Vice President, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat here today.
Welcoming the Crown Prince Philippe, Shri Shekhawat noted that Belgium is India’s second largest trade partner in the Europeon Union with total trade turnover estimated to be ( 6 billion in 2004. He also noted that there are nearly 230 Belgian joint ventures in India covering diverse areas such as IT, energy, ports, construction, banking and finance, chemicals & fertilizers, Bio-technology etc. He hoped that the visit of the Crown Prince would further strengthen these bonds.
During the meeting the two dignitaries discussed matters relating to close ties between the people of India and Belgium. They also had wide ranging discussions on the matters relating to economic and cultural relations between India and Belgium.
Prince Philippe is on a seven-day visit to India at the invitation of the Vice President, Shri Shekhawat. He is accompanied by HRH Princess Mathilde, HE Mr. Marc Verwilghen, Minister of Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade and Scientific Politics of the Federal Government, HE Ms. Fientje Moerman, Vice-Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade and the high-level officials from Federal and Regional Governments of Belgium, representatives of 126 Belgian companies spanning key sectors of Belgian economy and 21 journalists.
The meeting was followed by a banquet hosted by the Vice President, in honour of the visiting dignitary.
AK/SK/JA
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