King and Queen of Belgium to visit India on Nov 5

"This visit of His Majesty King Philippe would be the first State visit to India following his ascension to the throne in 2013. The visit would further strengthen the historical strong ties between the two countries. Belgium was also among the first European countries to establish a diplomatic mission in India after Independence," read the statement.

India is Belgium’s second largest export destination and third largest trade partner outside EU.

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

Diamond trade overwhelmingly dominates Indo-Belgian commerce.

Trade in gems and jewellery constitutes over 75% of the bilateral trade and diamonds make up more than 80 per cent of Belgian exports and more than 40 per cent of Belgian imports from India.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The Royal couple will be 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.

According to DIPP data, Belgium cumulative investments in India is over US$ 1.01 billion for the period April 2000 - June 2017.

The Indian Diaspora in Belgium numbers around 18,000 as per estimates from the Belgian Government. Of this nearly 10,000 are Indian citizens. Around 1500 Indian IT professionals work for various Belgian companies along with around 800 Indian students in various universities.