Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrived in India with an uncommon and considerate reward for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a miniature reproduction of Delhi’s iconic India Gate made solely from Belgian chocolate. There was only one drawback. The chocolate sculpture didn’t survive the journey to India. Throughout a joint press convention with PM Modi in New Delhi on September 3, De Wever shared the story with a contact of humour. He stated he had deliberate to current Modi with a sculpture of India Gate constructed from “the most effective Belgian goodies.” Nonetheless, in contrast to the actual India Gate, which has stood for nearly a century, the chocolate model couldn’t make it by way of the journey intact. “Chocolate is superb for diplomacy, however not glorious for diplomatic journey,” De Wever joked.
A present with a deeper which means
Whereas the story introduced laughter to the press convention, the reward was greater than only a candy gesture. De Wever selected India Gate due to the shared historical past between India and Belgium. The monument in New Delhi commemorates Indian troopers who served and died through the First World Warfare. In response to the official India-Belgium joint assertion, PM Modi and De Wever recalled the sacrifice of greater than 9,000 Indian troopers within the Flanders Fields through the First World Warfare. Their sacrifice stays an vital a part of the historic connection between the 2 international locations. The chocolate reproduction was subsequently meant to attach Belgium’s well-known chocolate custom with a big Indian monument and the international locations’ shared historical past.
The chocolate reward didn’t make it
The bizarre current, nonetheless, confronted a really trendy diplomatic drawback, journey. De Wever defined that the chocolate India Gate didn’t survive the journey to India. Experiences have described the reward as having melted or been broken throughout transit, however De Wever’s personal wording was that the chocolate model “didn’t even survive the journey to India.” As an alternative of treating the mishap as a disappointment, the Belgian prime minister turned it right into a lighthearted second. He additionally revealed {that a} backup model of the chocolate sculpture remains to be in Belgium. De Wever stated he intends to get it to PM Modi “in a single piece,” ensuring that the candy diplomatic gesture ultimately reaches its vacation spot.
Greater than a chocolate reward
The playful chocolate story got here throughout a go to that carried a lot larger diplomatic significance. De Wever’s India go to, from September 2 to 4, 2026, is his first go to to the nation since turning into Belgium’s prime minister in February 2025. Throughout his assembly with Modi, the 2 leaders mentioned methods to strengthen cooperation between India and Belgium. The 2 international locations agreed to develop cooperation in a number of areas, together with commerce, funding, defence, semiconductors, essential minerals, renewable power, and know-how. India and Belgium additionally mentioned stronger maritime and port cooperation. Reuters reported that the 2 international locations additionally agreed to work in the direction of doubling bilateral commerce over the following 5 years and introduced an Funding Quick-Monitor Mechanism to encourage Belgian funding in India.
A candy second in a severe go to
The chocolate India Gate might not have reached PM Modi as deliberate, however the concept behind it remained intact. The reward introduced collectively Belgian chocolate, an iconic Indian landmark, and the shared reminiscence of Indian troopers who fought in Belgium through the First World Warfare. What started as a fastidiously deliberate diplomatic current ended up turning into a humorous second throughout an vital bilateral go to. And maybe that’s what made the gesture memorable. The chocolate sculpture might not have survived the journey, however the message behind it did. As De Wever returns to Belgium, one small diplomatic mission stays unfinished: getting the backup chocolate India Gate to PM Modi, this time, hopefully, in a single piece.