King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians are back in Brussels after their four day official trip to the Middle East.
Starting on the 2nd of February, the first stop saw the King and Queen arrive in Oman, where they were officially welcomed by Sultan Oman Haitham bin Tarik at Al Alam Palace in Muscat, before moving on to Sultan Taboos Mosque, the country’s largest worship place.
The following day, the Belgian delegation travelled to the Omani city of Duqm, where they visited the city’s port and Hyport, a hydrogen plant that was built with Belgian cooperation and that will ensure the production of green energy from hydrogen.
In the context of an economy so heavily reliant on oil like most of the countries in the Middle East are, the promotion of alternative and more sustainable energy sources is a welcome novelty.
Following a boat tour of the port of Duqm, which came after a visit to the airfield, the royal couple made their way to the United Arab Emirates.
King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and the Belgian delegation (comprised of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès, the Minister of Economy and Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne and the Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten) were welcomed at Abu Dhabi’s International Airport.
King Philippe then attended a bilateral meeting that concluded with the signing of an agreement aimed at implementing the cooperation between Belgian VIB, a group of scientific researchers, and Khalifa University. The project will put together a joint programme to develop artificial intelligence and biomedical research to find treatments for diabetes.
The second day in the UAE saw the King and Queen travel to Dubai to visit Expo2020. Their visit coincides with the celebration of the exhibition’s Belgian National Day. King Philippe gave a short speech before beginning the tour, thanking the United Arab Emirates for their hospitality and highlighting the good relations between the two countries.
It was then time for a visit air the Belgian pavilion in Expo. The country chose to shine a spotlight on their mobility, energy and sustainability sectors, which was also the central theme of the King and Queen’s trip to the Middle East.
Specifically, Their Majesties were given a tour of “The Green Arch” (“L’Arche Verte” in French, or “Groene Boog” in Dutch), a positive example of green energy building. The structure is covered with roughly 2500 local plants that have CO2 absorption properties, therefore lowering the indie temperature of the building.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde then paid tribute to their hosts by visiting the UAE’s pavilion, which retraces the history of the country through a “unique multi-sensory experience”, as a tweet from the Belgian Royal Palace states.
The King and Queen then met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice President and Prime Minister, before attending an economic meeting organised by Economy and Employment Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne.
A visit to multiple other pavilions through Expo Dubai concluded the official visit on Saturday, 5th of February, before the Belgian Head of State and the rest of the delegation made their way back to Brussels.
