Belgium's King Philippe to visit India from Nov 5-11

This will be King Philippe's first visit to India following his ascension to the throne in 2013.

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, the royal couple will be in India from November 5-11.

"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," the MEA said in a statement.

India is Belgium's second largest export destination and the third largest trade partner outside the European Union.

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