Belgium’s Queen Mathilde arrived on Tuesday in Vietnam for a three-day field visit organised by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), of which she is honorary president.
Queen Mathilde landed in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, on Tuesday afternoon local time (Tuesday morning, Belgian time). Her schedule for Day One of her mission includes a visit to the Presidential Palace, where she will meet the Head of State of the Vietnamese Socialist Republic, Võ Van Thu’ò’ng.
She will then travel to the northwestern region of Lao Cai, where she will make a number of humanitarian visits on Wednesday and Thursday, focusing on issues such as malnutrition, education, mental health and early marriage.
Queen Mathilde has already done nine field trips as UNICEF honorary president, including to Tanzania, Haiti and Laos. Her last such trip for UNICEF was in 2019, when she carried out a humanitarian mission to Kenya, together with her daughter, Elisabeth.
The 50-year-old Belgian queen’s schedule has been packed over the past few months, since several trips postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have been added to this year’s programme.
So far this year, she has already been to Bangladesh – for a UN working visit – to Egypt, for an official visit with her daughter, and to South Africa, for a state visit.
Last weekend, the royal couple attended the coronation of King Charles III in London.
On Saturday next, on the queen's return from Vietnam, a garden party will be organised at the Royal Domain of Laeken on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the reign of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
