State Visit to Belgium - Second Day

"Finance" Breakfast

On Tuesday morning at the Palais d'Egmont, H.M. the King of the Belgians and H.R.H. the Grand Duke attended a breakfast organised by Luxembourg For Finance and hosted by Finance Ministers Gilles Roth and Vincent Van Peteghem. Discussions focused on financing the economy.

The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Forum, organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and opened by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel and Hadja Lhabib, gave delegations and partners from both countries – 300 Belgian and Luxembourg companies in attendance – the opportunity to discuss health technologies (HealthTech), sustainable development in the construction sector and digital sovereignty.

Three Belgian-Luxembourg partnership success stories were presented to the King and the Grand Duke.

Visit to the exhibition "Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium"

Meanwhile, H.M. the Queen of the Belgians and H.R.H. the Grand Duchess visited the 'Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium", celebrating the centenary of this artistic movement.

For the event, the gallery selected Belgian works spanning over 60 years.

Visit to the North Sea Port in Ghent

The Belgian Royal Couple and the Grand Duke visited Ghent's North Sea Port, a cross-border port founded in 2018 as a result of the merger of the Dutch seaports of Zeeland (Vlissingen and Terneuzen) and the Belgian port of Ghent. It is one of the 10 largest seaports in Europe.

The directors presented the strategic role of the site, which brings together nearly 700 companies and generates 106,000 jobs, and emphasised its specific development in the energy transition.

The visit continued at ABC Engines (Anglo Belgian Corporation Engines), a company specialised in the manufacture of engines for ships and locomotives.

Their Majesties and Their Royal Highnesses were able to see a state-of-the-art engine running exclusively on hydrogen, as well as hybrid and multi-fuel engines.

Lunch at the Provincial House

The King, the Queen, the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess visited the Provincial House in Ghent for a themed lunch – hosted by the Governor of the Province of East Flanders and the Mayor of Ghent – focusing on sustainable development and the challenges faced by the labour market and the energy sector. The session was led by experts in these fields.

Visit to Saint Bavo's Cathedral

The Royal Couple and the Grand-Ducal Couple visited St Bavo's Cathedral and paid particular attention to the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", the famous masterpiece – magnificently restored – by the Van Eyck brothers.

They were guided by Bishop Van Hecke of Ghent.

The masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consists of 18 paintings.

Visit to the headquarters of Jan de Nul Group

The remainder of the programme returned to the maritime theme with a visit to the "Jan de Nul" company, which specialises in dredging, a process that involves extracting materials from the seabed or a body of water. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the group is also active in large-scale international projects in both the maritime and civil engineering sectors.

The executives presented the guests with the two simulators, highly valuable tools for training and engineering, and explained the principles of trailing rope and cutter dredgers.

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