New Delhi, Nov 5 : Belgian King Albert II and Queen Paola visited Bangla Saheb Gurdwara in New Delhi on Wednesday.

King Albert II, who is on a nine-day visit to India, offered prayers at the Shrine.

The King Albert II and Queen Paola were felicitated with a ceremonial sword, an honour by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).

“We have welcomed him according to our traditional Sikh custom, this will improve not only the relations between India and Belgium but also the image of the Sikhs living in Belgium will go higher,” said Paramjeet Singh, Sarna, Chairman, Gurudwara Management Committee.

The King and the Queen also inaugurated a ''langar'' (community kitchen) on the premises of the Gurudwara.

The Belgian monarch heads a high powered delegation, including Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and CEOs of the key Belgian companies and top officials of universities of the European nation.

The monarch and the Belgian delegates had met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

The visit is expected to give a major boost to the economic and academic relationship between Belgium and India.

A series of commercial agreements between Belgian and Indian companies are expected to be signed during the visit.

The universities of India and Belgium will ink strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to create a framework for more intensive people to people relations. (ANI)