Belgium's King Philippe to visit India from Nov 5-11

New Delhi: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium will pay a seven-day visit to India on November during which the two countries will further strengthen the historical ties, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

This will be King Philippe's first visit to India following his ascension to the throne in 2013.

Accompanied by six ministers and a high-powered business delegation comprising CEOs of 86 Belgian companies, 13 chiefs of academic institutions and 29 members from media, the royal couple will be in India from November 5-11.

"The visit would further strengthen the historically strong ties between the two countries. Belgium was also among the first European countries to establish a diplomatic mission in India after independence," the MEA said in a statement.

India is Belgium's second largest export destination and the third largest trade partner outside the European Union.

In 2016-17, the bilateral trade amounted to USD 13.28 billion of which exports from India to Belgium accounted for USD 5.65 billion while imports from Belgium accounted for USD 6.62 billion.