The sudden departure of the Sultan of Oman from Leuven on Friday has had an unintended consequence for less fortunate locals, who have been given his leftover prepared meals.
The huge amount of meals which had been prepared for the Sultan and his entourage - who also left on Monday - will be given to Poverello, an organisation to help the less fortunate.
We have already eagerly eaten from the first donation, they are well-prepared hotel meals. And now they say that we need at least three small trucks to transport everything," a Poverello representative told de Telegraaf.
"So it is going to be a big move, but we do not regret it. This will be a beautiful Christmas," they added.
The Sultan's arrival has been a hot topic in Belgian news after a four-star hotel in the very centre of Leuven closed its doors to all bookings until the end of January during his visit to the city for medical work.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the longest-serving leader in the Middle East, came to the Flemish city’s renowned university hospital to undergo a “series of medical checks,” Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced in a press release.
While he was expected to stay until January, it was announced on Friday that the Sultan had already left Belgium. “He said that he greatly appreciated Leuven’s hospitality,” Leuven Mayor Mohamed Ridouani told Het Nieuwsblad.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
