Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs

HRM Princess Astrid will lead, as representative of the King, a Belgian Economic Mission to Mexico from this Saturday, February 16 to Saturday, February 30. With 280 participants, and events spread on the whole week, first in Mexico City and then in Monterrey, this mission will be almost twice as large as the last princely mission organized in this country 10 years ago. The number of participants and the density of the program reflect the high interest of our companies, universities and research centres for the opportunities offered by the 15th largest economy in the world. Beyond the promotion of exports and investments, this economic mission will also be the opportunity to strengthen the human and political dimension of the relationship between our two countries.

On the occasion of the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers, Belgium is organizing an informal session of the UN Security Council on the important role the United Nations can play in liberating and reintegrating child soldiers into society. They are recruited worldwide by armed groups or government forces.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and Minister of Defense Didier Reynders signed this morning in the Egmont Palace in Brussels a commitment for an amount of two million euros to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This commitment will benefit a fund dedicated to the fight against corruption linked to crimes against wildlife and forests in Africa. Wildlife is an irreplaceable part of our planet’s natural resources. Fighting environmental corruption supports ecosystems and biodiversity for the current generation, but also for those of tomorrow.

Which projects does Belgium finance, and where? This is only one of the many questions to which openaid.be has the answer. The new data portal is the capstone of Belgium’s efforts to make its development policy more transparent. It brings Belgium among the most transparent donors in the world. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation Alexander de Croo launched the data portal today during the New Year’s reception of the actors of Belgium’s development policy.

More than 20 years ago, the world took a decisive step to ban nuclear tests forever: the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature. Today, the world is still waiting for eight States to join the Treaty so it can enter into force. Despite the delay, the CTBT remains an irreplaceable instrument for the international non-proliferation regime. Nuclear tests are considered illegal worldwide and only one country, North Korea, has violated this international standard during the 21^st century.

Tomorrow, it is exactly 74 years ago that the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp was liberated. That is why the 27th of January is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders' thoughts are with all victims and survivors of the genocides that have taken place in history. Such tragedies may never happen again. Continuing attention to the Holocaust and education about the Shoah have an important preventive role, according to the Minister.

Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, is leaving for a two-days working visit to New York today in the framework of Belgium’s mandate in the United Nations Security Council.

Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium, and Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, signed a joint declaration at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels on 23 January 2019 in which the two countries commit to collaborate on the development of an international framework for the exploration and utilisation of space resources.