As the vaccination program advances in some countries, royal fans can expect more and more work trips.
This will be the case for Princess Astrid of Belgium. On Friday, the Belgian Royal Palace announced that from the 2nd to the 9th of October, Her Royal Highness would be travelling to the United States of America on behalf of His Majesty the King. She will visit New York City, Boston and Atlanta.
She will be on an economic mission organised by the Agency for Foreign Commerce, the three regional agencies for foreign commerce promotion and investments (Flanders Investment & Trade – FIT, hub.Brussels and the Agence Wallonne à l’Exportation – AWEX [Wallon Agency for Export]).
Her Royal Highness will be accompanied by several ministers, both federal and regional.
She will specifically focus on medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, the farm and food sector, climate change solutions through new technologies, smart economy and audiovisual.
It is unclear at this point if she will also be accompanied by her husband, Prince Lorenz, or what her exact schedule will be.
It seems unlikely that she will get to meet with President Biden, but she will probably still entertain face to face encounters with other key figures in the new White House.
With all topics she will focus on in the press release, it seems plausible that she will meet with US Climate Envoy John Kerry or with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to talk about all the consequences of a more global medical and pharmaceutical sector. She could also meet Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to discuss the key role the agricultural sector played in keeping entire populations fed during months of restrictions.
It also seems likely that she will get a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to discuss how to further virtual infrastructure between Europe (Belgium specifically) and the United States.
This will be the first mission to be carried out by a member of the Belgian Royal Family in more than 18 months due to the restrictions imposed by the global health emergency.
