Princess Astrid of Belgium arrived in Norway this Sunday afternoon to begin her visits on the morning of Monday June 17. King Philippe’s sister is once again leading a Belgian economic mission. For four days, she led this trip surrounded by 260 representatives of Belgian companies.
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Princess Astrid chairs new economic mission to Norway
Princess Astrid of Belgium, 62 years old, 5th in the order of succession to the Belgian throne, began her visits to the Kingdom of Norway this Monday morning. Princess Astrid arrived in Oslo on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by Federal Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib and Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon, who is also Minister of Foreign Policy for Flanders. On the Walloon side, it is the Minister of Climate, Energy and Mobility in Wallonia, Philippe Henry, who accompanies the sister of King Philippe, and on the Brussels side, it is the Secretary of State Ans Persoons, in charge of Urban Planning and Heritage, European and International Relations and Foreign Trade, which is travel.
Princess Astrid, who since the start of her brother’s reign has chaired all Belgian economic missions in the name of the King of the Belgians, began her day of June 17, 2024 with a scientific conference. The rector of the University of Oslo, Svein Stølen, welcomed Princess Astrid to this conference which focused on the future of the health and biotechnology sector. Like most of the events organized throughout the trip, it aims to highlight the prospects for collaboration between Belgium and Norway.
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Norway is the 4th export country for Belgium and conversely, Belgium is the 5th supplier country for Norway. Medical technologies are one of the sectors of cooperation. After the conference, Princess Astrid visited the Oslo Science City Innovation Ecosystem, where Didier Lambert, rector of the Belgian University of Leuven presented the ongoing projects with the University of Olso. In particular, there is joint work in the cancer research sector.
During lunchtime, Princess Astrid participated in a working lunch in the presence of the Belgian Business Federation (FEB) and its local equivalent, the Norwegian Business Confederation (NHO). The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the FEB, Pieter Timmermans, notably gave a speech.
In the afternoon, Princess Astrid will take an interest in horse riding and will have the opportunity to meet one of King Harald’s granddaughters whose future is promising in the discipline. Princess Astrid will also meet Crown Prince Haakon over tea, before ending the day talking about crafts and fruit growing.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor-in-chief
Nicolas Fontaine has been a designer-editor and author for numerous Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in royal family news, Nicolas founded the site Histoires royales of which he is the editor-in-chief. [email protected]
