Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

As of today, December 9, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, brother of King Philippe of Belgium, is leading the Belgian Economic Mission to its final destination, Kyoto, Japan.
According to a statement issued by the Belgian Foreign Ministry in Brussels, of which we received a copy, Princess Astrid is accompanied by a ministerial delegation that includes the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hajja Habib, the Minister, Prime Minister of Flanders, Jean Jambon, and the Brussels Minister of State responsible for urbanization and heritage. European Relations and Foreign Trade, Pascal Smit. Federal Secretary of State Mathieu Michel will also participate in the mission's economic activities in the field of digitization.
Kyoto - capital of Japan from 794 until 1869 - is today the cultural capital of Japan and many of its attractions have been collectively designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Kyoto is also an academic center with many highly ranked institutions including Kyoto University, the second oldest university in Japan. The city is also the center of Japan's television and film industry and home to world-famous video game company Nintendo.
The delegation will begin its program at Doshisha University with a seminar on business and human rights, with a focus on equality.
Gender equality is a political priority for Belgium, both at the national and foreign policy levels. The symposium in Kyoto will focus on young people's perspective and expectations on gender equality in business, followed by a panel discussion with high-level participants from Japan and Belgium, who will share their experiences and messages for the future.
Princess Astrid and the delegation will also commemorate the centenary of the donation of Japanese books in the 1920s to the University of Leuven (KUL-UCL) and honor the participation of the Imperial Household and Kyoto University in this donation.
The venue for the ceremony is the historic Sifusu Villa and Gardens of former Prime Minister Duke Saionji Kinmochi. He led the Japanese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I in 1919, where he was asked if Japan would commit to international efforts to rebuild the University of Leuven library.
After attending the opening of Thierry Reynaud's photo exhibition of Foulon's sculptures at the Hakusu Sonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Garden and Museum, Princess Astrid will host the Game Jam Awards: Japan Collaboration in Graphic Arts and Video Games. It is a challenge race in which teams of young graduates from Belgium and Japan compete over the Internet to produce a video game in just two days. Princess Astrid will announce the winning team and give them the prize. As such, Japanese and Belgian talent and creativity will be linked and introduced to Japanese professionals at the heart of Japan's video and game industry.