King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their delegation left for India from Melsbroek Airport.
During the flight Mathilde changed into a suit and went round to chat with the business people, academics, politicians and journalists on the plane.
After 7 hours of flight the royals and the 174 strong delegation arrived in New Dehli, India.
Descending the plane, from the top: Anick Van Calster (former advisor of Mathilde, now Director General for bilateral affairs at Belgian Foreign Affairs; in blue: Peter De Wilde (Director of Tourism Flanders), in brown: Geneviève Renaux (economic advisor of King Philippe); in striped jacket: Claire Tillekaerts (Director of Flanders Investment & Trade, wife of Dirk Bossé); Machteld Fostier (Mathilde's advisor).
video: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2017/11/05/filip-en-mathilde-komen-na-7-uur-vliegen-aan-in-new-delhi/
Day 2: 6 November 2017
Visit to the Taj Mahal by the Royal Couple and the delegation. The site was cleared for the event.
King Philippe took this picture of his wife:
Day 3: 7 November 2017
Arrival at Rashtrapati Bahvan for an official welcome by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The city was covered in the worst polluting smog the country has known. Schools had to close and flights were cancelled because of it.
Video where King Philippe tells how the couple visited India on their honeymoon:
At the Ghandi Memorial.
Afterwards Queen Mathilde changed into a dress by Indian designer Anita Dongre for her visit to the female empowerment & microfinance project "Fusion".
At the presidential palace Queen Mathilde attended a SDG themed lunch with the Indian First Lady and other prominent female guests.
Manekha Ghandi accompanied the Queen on a visit to Childline 1098, a safety net for children - comparable to Mathilde's patronage Child Focus in Belgium.
Laurence de Ghellinck accompanied Mathilde on this journey as lady-in-waiting.
At night, the Royal Couple participated in a gala dinner offered by Indian President Kovind and his wife.
Day 4: 8 November 2017
The day started with a networking event for Indian tour operators.
The King & Queen of the Belgians inaugurated 'India in Flanders Fields', an exhibition on the shared WWI history of the two countries, alongside Minister of State for External Affairs Singh and Bipin Rawat, the chief of staff of the Indian Army.
At noon there was a working lunch with foreign secretary Didier Reynders. The importance of the SDGs were discussed with representatives of an Indian Government think tank UN India, University rectors and Indian CEOs.
In the afternoon, Mathilde was intoduced to 'Plan-It Girls!', a female empowerment project on social emancipation: the issues of rape, arranged marriage and teenage pregnancy in Indian society were discussed. The project is founded by ICRW, the Intenational Center for Research on Women. Mathilde's an honorary member of the board.
Mathilde received a scarf as a gift.
Afterwards Mathilde took the time to talk to people on the streets.
Finally, Philippe & Mathilde attended a reception at the Belgian embassy in New Dehli where they assisted at a performance of Belgian dance group Bollyliscious.
Belgian ambassador to India, Jan Luykx and his wife, Raka Singh.
Day 5: 9 November 2017
In the morning the Belgian delegation flew from New Dehli to Mumbai.
They received a bindi on the forehead at their hotel.
King Philippe & Queen Mathilde had a meeting with the Governor of Maharahstra.
In the afternoon, the Queen visited Unicef India (Mathilde's the honorary chair of Unicef Belgium) at the Lions School in Mumbai. A group of children performed the Handwash Song.
She talked with representatives of Unicef on the actions they take to end the violence against children in their country.
Queen Mathilde sent out this message.
Together with the Healthcare Minister of Maharashtra, Dr. Deepak Sawant, Mathilde attended a Mumbai Seminar on life sciences and healthcare.
The Royal Couple finished their working day by attending a Port of Antwerp reception.
Day 6: 10 November 2017
King Philippe & Queen Mathilde got their first cricket lessons from Virender Sehwag. Later Mathilde commented she felt she was still trying to play tennis a little too much. The workshop was a Unicef project to get children to work on their confidence through sports in a safe and healthy environment.
Koningin Mathilde speelt in Mumbai voor het eerst cricket, nationale sport in India. Spelregels zijn ingewikkeld, zegt ze later. #BelInd2017 pic.twitter.com/Zv7XTUhFWj
— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) November 10, 2017
Queen Mathilde talked to the Belgian journalists.
Then the King & Queen joined sister Jeanne Devos for the lighting of the lamp ceremony. Belgian Sister Jeanne is the founder of the National Domestic Workers Movements. Mathilde has been showing support for her actions for over 15 years. Last year Jeanne Devos returned to Belgium for health reasons. She's joined the Queen in India especially for this occasion.
Indische jongen: “Breng volgende keer uw kinderen mee”-Filip: “Zal hen zeggen hoe fantastisch jullie zijn. Hopelijk ontmoeten ze jullie ‘ns” pic.twitter.com/iXi0V8qq6V
— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) November 10, 2017
Then followed a working lunch with Indian ladies.
At the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation, Queen Mathilde watched young musicians perform. The Indian organisation has been supported by the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition for the past 3 years.
A concert by Belgian girls choir Scala featuring the Symphony Orchestra of India was the closing event of the state visit. Mathilde was wearing a second dress by Anita Dongre.
One of the personal guests of the Royal Couple was Indian stewardess Nidhi Chaphekar, one of the victims of the Brussels terror attacks in March 2016. Mrs Chaphekar was in a coma for 22 days and had to undergo 8 operations. Philippe & Mathilde had had a personal meeting with her once before, in Brussels: http://queenmathilde.blogspot.be/2017/03/nindhi-chaphekar.html
Day 7: 11 November 2017
In the early morning, the Royal Couple and their entire delegation left Mumbai for Brussels.
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