Belgian PM’s chocolate gift to Modi doesn’t survive journey to India

Diplomatic protocol is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get — or whether it’ll survive the flight. A chocolate replica of New Delhi’s India Gate intended as Belgium’s gift to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was damaged on its way to India, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Thursday. De Wever joked about the mishap at a press conference alongside Modi. He had planned to present him with a sculpture “made out of the best Belgian chocolate.” “But unlike the real India Gate, which has stood almost for a century, the chocolate version didn’t even survive the journey to India,” De Wever said. “Chocolate is excellent for diplomacy, but not excellent for diplomatic travel.” The gift carried a more serious message. India Gate is a war memorial in New Delhi, and De Wever said the replica was meant to honor the more than 9,000 Indian soldiers who fought and died in Belgium’s Flanders Fields during World War I. A backup version is still waiting in Belgium, De Wever said. He promised the replacement would fare better: “One way or another, I will get it to Prime Minister Modi in one piece.” Diplomatic gifts have produced stranger outcomes. A camel given to former French President François Hollande by Mali was left with a family in Timbuktu, which later slaughtered and ate it. In 2014, then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with two Idaho potatoes. Beyond the protocol hiccup, De Wever and Modi agreed to deepen cooperation on defense, organized crime and renewable energy, while aiming to boost trade. De Wever also invited Modi to visit Belgium.