The king, the queen, the ministers and the delegation will remain stuck for some time in Chile, where a state visit was carried out. The green light has still not been granted to the plane planned to return to Belgium, making a return on Friday impossible.
“The queen and I have decided to stay with you, in good understanding with the ministers,” said King Philippe to all the people who remained stuck in Antofagasta. “We do everything to settle the situation. The Titanic has not yet sank, we stay on board, “he joked.
On the spot, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot reacted to this special situation. “The royal couple, myself and the other colleagues ministers, of course decided to stay with the entire delegation until we can find a way out for our return,” said the minister first. “It is quite shameful for the image of Belgium, already to have had problems at start -up, to have had to shift the mission. Imagine if the state banquet, the meeting with the president, had been scheduled for the first day of the visit. He should have been canceled even though it is the heart of the mission of this state visit. ”
After the hiccups at the start … the hiccups on the return: “For the moment, it is impossible to know when it is possible for us to be able to take a return flight. It is therefore the private, professional timetable, of the hundred people who make up the delegation to our head of state who is affected, ”he deplores.
