As the Belgium Red Devils began their Euro football tournament against Slovakia in Germany on Monday, Princess Astrid focused on a different type of competition against the Netherlands.
The Princess was on an economic mission in Norway, accompanied by several ministers, business leaders, and scholars. On Monday evening, she attended a reception celebrating Belgian strawberries.
In a rooftop bar overlooking the capital and the fjords, the Princess, together with other guests, had a chance to savour a strawberry cocktail and other delicacies made from Belgian strawberries.
About 70% of Belgium's strawberries are exported, with one million kilogrammes going to Norway last year, making the Scandinavian country the seventh-largest foreign buyer of Belgian strawberries.
Only the Netherlands and Spain send more strawberries to Norway, which also produces its own, but not all year round. The Dutch supply the Norwegians with five times more strawberries than the Belgian exporters.
Through this charm offensive in Oslo, the Belgians hope to capture a share of the market from their Dutch competitors.
