His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, met with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Belgium, Prince Philippe.

Prince Philippe is currently visiting the country for two days on an economic mission. Sheikh Mohammed and Prince Philippe discussed economic and investment ties between the UAE and Belgium.

View the economic mission thread here.

dazzling Belgian Royals, UAE Royals Economic Mission, Prince Philippe, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

courtesy of WAM

Her Highness Sheikha Fatima hosted a banquet in honour of Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium. Among dignitaries present were Her Highness Sheikha Salamah bint Hamdan (wife of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces), Her Highness Sheikha Shama bint Zayed (wife of His Highness Sheikh Surur bin Mohammed Al Nahyan) and Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan (wife of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Representative of Ruler in Western Region).

Before the banquet, Sheikha Fatima and Princess Mathilde exchanged views on a number of issues connected with women’s rights. Sheikha Fatima briefed the Crown Princess about the UAE national women empowerment and the role they play in the development process in the country. Sheikha Fatima, who is the Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, has always been actively involved in women’s rights issues.

courtesy of WAM

Princess Mathilde highly praised the Sheikha’s role in the empowerment of women in the community and her efforts regarding the issues of childcare, environment and social development. The Crown Princess also lauded Sheikha Fatima’s humanitarian contributions both on local and international levels.

Later in the day, Princess Mathilde paid a visit to the Khalifa Fund for Development of Enterprises. The Princess was given a presentation on the Fund’s objectives, programmes and achievements in the promotion of the culture of entrepreneurship among the UAE citizens. The Princess was very impress by the achievements of the Fund since its founding two years ago and praised its important role in promoting development of entrepreneurship among various sectors of the UAE society.

Today was the final day of Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde’s economic mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

To learn more about economic mission, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals, UAE Royals Economic Mission, Princess Mathilde, Sheikha Fatima, Women's Rights

Click on image to see photo at Zimbio

  Another economic mission for prince Philippe of Belgium this week. From May 9th to May 15th the prince and a delegation of Belgian business(wo)men visit the republic of South Korea. The mission has been organized by the agency for foreign trade, in close participation with the export promoting services like Flanders Investment & Trade, Awex and Brussels Export. The minister of foreign affairs, karen De Gucht, will be esorting the prince, as a member of the federal government.

Click on image to see photo at Zimbio

At the first day of the visit, prince Philippe met president Lee Myung-bak at the presidential residence in Seoul. On May 10th the prince visited the southern side of the border between North and South Korea, when he went to the village Panmunjom. And today prince Philippe met South Korea’s prime minister, Han Seung-Soo, during a meeting in Seoul.

See this thread to get more information about this visit.

Marengo Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Prince Philippe, South Korea

Click to see full image at daylife

 It has been a busy time for the Belgian Royals these past few days. While Princess Mathilde returned from the economic mission in Mexico, Prince Philippe travelled on to Panama for the second part of the mission. On 26 March he met Panama’s President Martin Torrijos at the Presidential Palace in Panama City. On his second and last day in Panama, the Prince visited an energy plant in Colon City, which is operated by the Belgian-French group GDF Suez.

Click to see full picture at IBL

In Belgium, however, the rest of the family hasn’t been sitting around either. On 26 March, Princess Claire attended the opening of the new exhibition rooms of the Treasure of the Liège Cathedral. She was clearly impressed with the valuable and beautiful exhibits. That same day King Albert met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul at the Royal Palace in Brussels. The President was on a visit to Brussels to attend the European summit. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz also came into action. They attended the opening of the exhibition “Charles the Bold (1433-1477) – Splendour in Burgundy” in Bruges. Large part of what is currently Belgium belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy, and the lands ended up in the Habsburg empire.

Click to see image at belga

Princess Mathilde, on the other hand, hardly had the time to recover from her jet lag, as she was one of the guests of honour at the “Female Entrepreneurship” conference, held on 27 March, organized by Markant, Unizo and TRIAS. The conference was held at the KBC building in Brussels. Women of the South and the North discussed female enterprising and how microfinancing was an important financial instrument to promote this.

See here for more pictures of Prince Philippe in Panama, or see this thread.
For more pictures of Princess Claire in Liège, click here, or see this tread.
For more pictures of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz in Bruges, see this thread.
For more pictures of Princess Mathilde at the Female Entrepreneurship Conference, click here or here, or check out this thread.
For more information about the Belgian Royals, see here.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Exhibition, Panama, Prince Lorenz, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Princess Mathilde

Click to see the image at belga

 25 March was the fourth day for Princess Mathilde and Prince Philippe in Mexico. While her husband was making preparations for the second part of the economic mission in Panama, the Princess visited Casa Hogar in Toluca, where she took all the time in the world to give the children there all the attention. She also talked to some of the people who had come out to greet her.

Click to see the image at belga

Later that day, the Princess visited the Children’s home “Diablos Rojos en Accion” in Zinacantepec, which is home to more than 50 children and teenagers. This children’s home has been financed by the Belgian government since 1986, when the Belgian Red Devils soccer team participated in the FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where they surprised friends and enemies with their excellent performance.

After this part in Mexico, the Princess returns home, while Prince Philippe leads the delegation to Panama. Prince Philippe will return to Belgium on 27 March.

See here for pictures of the fourth day.
See here for a discussion about the visit.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Mexico, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde

 On 24 March, the third day in Mexico (the second day of official activities – just to keep things simple), Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium attended the opening of the exposition “Belgica-Mexico, encuentro y reencuentro” at the Mexican Parliament, during which they took the time to talk to the children who were present. They met with Cesar Duarte, chairman of the chambers of deputy.

Click on the image to see the picture at belga

 Later, they also attended an official ceremony in the City Hall of Mexico City, where Prince Philippe received the Keys of the City from Federal district’s governor, Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon.

Later, Princess Mathilde visited the Condesa Clinic, which specializes in AIDS treatment. Crown Princes Mette-Marit of Norway has also visited that clinic during her visit to Mexico. The Princess was also invited to a working luncheon with INMUJERS/UNIFEM at the Ministry of Economy, after which she had a little time to recover from her busy morning.

Click on the image to see the picture at belga

In the evening, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde attended the Belgium Walking Dinner at the Hotel InterCotinental. The Princess appeared in Royal blue, with a rather deep back line – much more revealing than we are used to see from her.

Totally off the record, for some reason, the official photographers seem very fond of capturing her shoes (like here and here, and this is only from Tuesday). This has made me realize, that she has been wearing almost 10 different pairs of shoes in those three days of tossing around Mexico City…

For more pictures, look here and here.
For a discussion of the visit, please see this thread.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, HIV/AIDS, Mexico, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde

 Monday was the second day for the Belgian Prince and Princess in Mexico. In the morning, they visited the Mexican President, Felipe Calderòn, and his wife, Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala at the official Presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City. The couple also laid a wreath at the Chapultepec monument.

Click on the image to see the picture at belga

After that, the Presidential and Royal couples visited the Castle of Chapultepec, which was the residence of Emperor Maximilian and Empress Charlotte, born Princess of Belgium. Princess Mathilde and the Frist Lady posed before a protrait of the Empress. The Castle is now a museum.

Click on the image to see the entire picture at belga.

Later that same day, the Prince and Princess were seen at the Belgian Ambassador’s residence during the Bozar signing ceremony. After that, the paths of the Prince and Princess separated until the evening. While Prince Philippe attended to his duties as head of the economic delegation, the Princess and the President’s wife visited the Centro de rehabilitacion Gaby Brimmer. As usual when children are present, the attention of the Princess went only to them.

Later on Monday evening, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde attended an official dinner hosted by the Mexican President, where Mathilde was again the sunny centre of attention, in a bright yellow top and beige skirt.

For pictures of the second day, see  here.
For a discussion of the visit, see this thread.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Mexico, President Calderon, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde

 Belgian Prince Philippe leads an economic mission to Mexico and Panama, and Princess Mathilde accompanies him during official engagements. While her husband is working on strengthening the economic ties between Mexico and Belgium, Princess Mathilde will concentrate on a more social agenda.

Click on the image to see the picture at Belga.

On their first day in Mexico, 22 March, the Duke and Duchess of Brabant used their free Sunday to enjoy a taste of the local culture. After a visit to the National Anthropological Museum, they also visited the Museo Dolores Olmedo.

The entire Belgian delegation was invited to a reception by the Belgian Ambassador to Mexico, at his residence in Mexico City, where Mathilde was the radiant and colourful centre of the evening.

See here and here for more pictures.
See here for more information and a discussion of the economic mission.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Mexico, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde

 Mexico is a popular place for royals this season. Mexican dignitaries have hardly finished saying goodbye to the Norwegian Crown Princely couple, and now they already have to prepare for yet another royal visit. Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium have started their visit to Mexico. The Prince leads an economic mission to Mexico and Panama. The Princess will attend only the part of the visit to Mexico.

Click on the image to see the photo at belga

They are accompanied by a delegation of more than 75 businessmen who are visiting Mexico to promote commercial agreements in ports infrastructure, energy, health and aeronautics.

On their first day in Mexico, on 22 March, they visited the National Anthropological Museum, in Mexico City.

See pictures here (belga)
Find more information about the visit here.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Economic Mission, Mexico, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde