King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians began their visit to the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate on the southeastern border with Belgium.
The royal couple arrived in Germany on the evening of Tuesday, 4 October, accompanied by the Belgian Minister of the German-speaking community, Oliver Paasch.
Their first engagement was a small reception with the founders of BioNTech, the medical technology firm that developed one of the COVID-19 vaccines in collaboration with Pfizer.
On the morning of Wednesday, the King and Queen’s first engagement was a visit to the BioNTech laboratories, where they received explanations from the staff about the production process for the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the research and development studies on individual vaccines against cancer.
Their next stop was the Gutenberg Museum in Mayence, the native town of the inventor of the press. After a visit to the museum, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde took part in a discussion group about media in modern times, as well as how media is consumed, which brought on a significant change in the diffusion of information.
Another crucial topic in the roundtable was digitalisation in media and the impact technology has had on the outreach of information, as well as the ever-mounting issue of fake news, with all the challenges they imply.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde were welcomed at the state chancellery by the Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Ms Malu Dreyer, with whom they sat for a work lunch.
In the afternoon, Their Majesties moved to Ludwigshafen, where they visited the headquarters of BASF. This chemical company has led the way in making the transition to greener practices, even within heavy industry. BASF is one of the largest investors in Belgium, and its business is set to increase because the company has ceased almost all activities in Russia and Belarus following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The only sector still operating, albeit at limited capacity, is the food production sector, which the company has opted to keep running to help avoid a global food crisis.
The last stop for the day was Von Winning vineyard, where they heard about the wine production in the area. Rhineland-Palatinate is the first state of Germany for wine production, and the sector represents a strong economic marker for the region and the country.
The last day of the visit will focus on maritime sustainability, international energy cooperation and support for the people most affected by the pandemic.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde make regular visits to different areas of Germany, which is one of Belgium’s biggest partners, both economically and culturally.
