Red carpet for Ignazio Cassis in Belgium – A young person’s view of Switzerland and the world
On Thursday November 24 and Friday November 25, Ignazio Cassis and his wife were received with the highest honors by the Belgian kingdom during a two-day state visit. The opportunity to underline the close relations and the many common values between Switzerland and Belgium. Story of these two exceptional days.
Ignazio Cassis and his wife have just spent two days in Belgium. They were officially welcomed at the Royal Palace in Brussels by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, respectively King and Queen of the Belgians, on the occasion of a historic State visit. Its purpose was to highlight and strengthen the excellent bilateral relations between Bern and Brussels. The Sovereigns and the presidential couple visited the Museum of Musical Instruments and attended a concert. In the evening, King Philippe raised a toast to relations between his kingdom and Switzerland during the State banquet at the Château de Laeken (place of residence of the Belgian sovereign). King Philippe’s last official visit to Switzerland dates back to 2017. That year, he was received in Bern by former President Doris Leuthard.
A second meeting with Alexander De Croo
Ignazio Cassis was also able to meet Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Thursday. During their discussion, the two statesmen mentioned many subjects of common interest such as the war in Ukraine, energy supplies in Europe and Switzerland’s European policy. They had already met in March in Sierre on the occasion of the painful commemoration of the accident in Sierre. In 2012, 28 people including 22 children from Lommel and Heverlee lost their lives in a car accident in a tunnel.
A busy two-day program
During the second day of the State visit, President Ignazio Cassis traveled to Liège in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of the country. He then went to Flanders. He also made a stop at the Health House, a health technology center. The visit ended on Friday evening with a jazz concert at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. The Sovereigns were of course present and it was an opportunity for them to close the state visit and especially to ask the Swiss presidential couple.
Swiss-Belgian relations in figures
Switzerland and Belgium maintain strong relations. Some 15,000 Belgian nationals live in Switzerland and 8,500 Swiss residents in Belgium. Trade in goods reached 7.8 billion francs last year, which places the Belgian kingdom in 13th place among Switzerland’s trading partners. Next time, it will be the Federal Council’s turn to receive the two Sovereigns in Switzerland for a state visit. Maybe in 2024.