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.


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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.