President Pranab Mukherjee and Belgium's King Philippe inaugurated the Europalia-India Festival, a cultural extravaganza showcasing India's rich cultural heritage through 450 events to be held over a period four months.
On Friday, Europe got to see the diversity of India, when a classical Indian Band and a troupe of dancers performed for the distinguished guests of which many belonged to the royal family of Belgium.
The guests were also treated to an exhibition of Indian statues which included the Hindu god of art and culture, Nataraja.
Mukherjee arrived in Brussels with an aim to enhance educational and cultural exchange between the two countries, this being his maiden trip to Europe after taking over as the Head of the State.
A high level delegation of educationists, academicians and lawmakers accompanied the president who would be working with an aim to focus on educational and cultural exchange between the two countries.
On Friday, Mukherjee also visited a world war memorial in Brussels where he paid homage to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the war.
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Earlier on Thursday, Mukherjee met Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, and signed an agreement to deepen economic ties in areas of infrastructure, nuclear energy, information technology and higher education.
After Belgium, Mukherjee will be visiting Turkey from October 5 to 7 at the invitation of the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul.