Our motto, ‘unity makes strength,’ has shaped our path

The date of July 21, 1831 — when Leopold of Saxe-Coburg swore his oath of allegiance to the new Constitution of Belgium and became the first Belgian king — is an important moment in Belgian history. Even though Belgian independence had been declared several months earlier in October 1830, our forefathers chose to celebrate National Day on July 21.

This year, our National Day happens to take place on the second day of Eid Al-Adha, adding more joy and festivity to the celebrations of the Belgian community in Saudi Arabia. I would like to extend my warmest wishes and sincerest congratulations to the Saudi people and all Muslims for a happy Eid Al-Adha and to congratulate all those performing Hajj.

With a large part of the adult population in the Kingdom being vaccinated, our hope of going back to a normal life and gathering at one table to celebrate with each other is moving one step closer to its full realization.

Certainly, national days are festive occasions in a nation’s calendar, but they are also an opportunity to take a look back at the path taken since independence and to build on the progress made, thereby setting the course for the future.

We Belgians had to rebuild our economy and sociopolitical structures from the ashes of the two world wars. Our motto, “Eendracht maakt macht/L’union fait la force” (unity makes strength), has shaped our pathway and determined Belgium’s endeavor to promote collaboration and consensus both domestically and internationally.

Shortly after the Second World War was over, Belgium emerged as the beating heart of Europe. Its capital city, Brussels, styled itself as the symbol of European unity and was consequently chosen to be the capital of the EU and a center for international decisionmaking, as it also hosts, among others, the headquarters of NATO.

On June 26, 1945, my country became one of the 51 founding members of the UN, signing the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of

Justice. Since then, Belgium has served six times as a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council.

Over the years, the leaders of the Saudi Arabian and Belgian royal families have fostered a well-built and far-reaching bilateral collaboration through state visits. These visits contributed to people-to-people, state-to-state and business-to-business relations. Our ties of friendship were first established in 1919, when a young Prince Faisal stopped at the sorrowful scenes of the Flanders Fields to ponder the devastation caused by the First World War and pay tribute to the innocent lives lost during the war. His thoughtful gesture paved the way for future collaboration between Belgium and Saudi Arabia.

Belgium inaugurated a legation in Jeddah in 1954 and followed that by appointing its first ambassador to the Kingdom in 1963.

In 2017, I was honored to be appointed as the first female resident ambassador to Saudi Arabia. I have been welcomed cordially and with open arms, and I knew that I was arriving at a remarkable time in the modern history of the Kingdom. The significance of this period stems from the enormous development that the country is undergoing on various levels. I am privileged to witness this change first-hand and to work closely with zealous Saudi friends to build bridges between our two kingdoms.

Today, both our kingdoms strive to achieve the spirit of true partnership in economic and international affairs, as well as in global issues such as peacemaking and international stability, sustainability and climate change. Belgium and Saudi Arabia work jointly in sectors of common interest such as healthcare, green hydrogen, transport and logistics. A successful example of this is Liege Airport, which was named the best cargo hub in the world in 2020. It last month signed a two-year commercial partnership with Saudia Cargo to increase cargo flights to and from the Belgian airport, which will in turn be connected to Saudia Cargo’s vast global network.

I am deeply humbled and profoundly honored to be at the forefront of working to further develop partnerships with different individuals and institutions in Saudi Arabia.