New Delhi: A unique gift that Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever planned to present to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has melted.
The Belgium Embassy in India on Friday shared a photograph of the gift – a scale model of India Gate made with Belgian chocolate.
“The viral India Gate made of chocolate you were wondering about…,” the embassy posted on X and noted that the sweet creation was destroyed in the journey.
“PM Bart De Wever had hoped to present this sweet Belgian creation to PM Narendra Modi. Unfortunately, it broke! But PM is determined that it finds its way to PM Modi & India – next time!” the embassy further wrote.
De Wever had planned to present the unusual gift to PM Modi during their official meeting, but unfortunately, the gift didn’t survive and melted during the journey.
The chocolate model also featured an enlarged portion of the inscription commemorating Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in France, Flanders (a region in Belgium), Mesopotamia and Persia, East Africa and Gallipoli.
The Belgian PM himself spoke about the sweet diplomatic gift during a joint press conference with PM Modi following their meeting at Hyderabad House in the national capital on Thursday.
“I had actually planned to present to Prime Minister Modi a fitting gift – a sculpture of India Gate entirely made out of the best Belgian chocolates,” he said.
“Chocolate is excellent for diplomacy, but not excellent for diplomatic travel, we noticed. But no worries, we have a backup in Belgium, and one way or another, I will get it to Prime Minister Modi in one piece,” De Wever said.
India Gate carries a deep message, the Belgian leader said and pointed to how it is linked to World War I.
“On the sculpture, the chocolate version, we enlarged a part of the inscription that commemorates Indian soldiers who fought and fell in Flanders Fields during the First World War,” he said.
“More than a century ago, Indian soldiers travelled thousands of miles to fight on Belgian soil, and we have not forgotten this. We have not forgotten their courage and their sacrifice. It is a part of our history and of our shared history, and it reminds us that peace can never be taken for granted. Unfortunately, it is a lesson that has become relevant again in the world of today…,” De Wever added.
During World War I, more than 1,30,000 Indian soldiers served on the Western Front in France and Belgium. They played a vital role in late 1914 by helping halt the German advance during the First Battle of Ypres in the Ypres Salient of Flanders, suffering massive casualties in harsh, unfamiliar European conditions. To commemorate those soldiers, an Indian War Memorial stands near the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, to honour their sacrifice.