Belgium's PM Carried a Chocolate India Gate for Modi, Then Melting Fears Got in the Way

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever revealed at a joint press conference with PM Narendra Modi that he had brought a chocolate replica of India Gate as a gift, but held it back over fears it would melt during the journey.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever spent three days visiting India, and he had packed something unusual for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet when the two leaders appeared together at a joint press conference on September 3, it turned out that the gift never actually changed hands. De Wever himself narrated the story on stage, walking the room through why he had picked that particular gift in the first place.

A chocolate India Gate that couldn't survive the trip
De Wever had commissioned a detailed replica of India Gate for Modi, but instead of metal or stone, it was crafted entirely out of fine Belgian chocolate. The trouble was the journey itself: with the risk of the delicate chocolate structure melting along the way, De Wever decided against carrying it to India. He said a backup version of the same chocolate model is currently kept safe in Belgium, and that he intends to find a way to eventually get it to Modi. It is, in other words, a gift still waiting to be delivered rather than one that was cancelled altogether.

Why India Gate, of all the monuments in Delhi
For De Wever, India Gate was never just a landmark worth photographing. He tied his choice directly to the memory of thousands of Indian soldiers who died in the First World War. The monument, located in New Delhi, was built to honour Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War and in some of the conflicts that followed it. The names of many of those soldiers are inscribed on the memorial itself, turning it into a permanent record of individual lives lost rather than an abstract tribute. Recalling their courage and sacrifice, De Wever summed up the sentiment on stage in a short, pointed line: "Not forgotten, courage, sacrifice."

A gesture that mattered more than the gift itself
The chocolate India Gate may never have reached Modi's hands, but the thinking behind it carried weight of its own. It was an attempt to link Belgium's well-known chocolate craftsmanship with one of India's most recognisable war memorials, while also pointing to a shared history between the two nations. Indian soldiers fought on European battlefields during the First World War, far from home, and De Wever's gesture was a reminder that their bravery is still remembered well beyond India's own borders, decades after the war ended.

That is precisely why this small anecdote took off once it came up at the press conference. The physical gift may have been held back over fears of it melting on the journey, but the message behind it, honouring the sacrifice of Indian soldiers, reached people all the same. De Wever's remarks also hinted at something beyond routine diplomacy: an emotional thread connecting India and Belgium that traces back to a shared wartime past, one that a simple chocolate model was meant to represent.

Questions & Answers

1. Who is the Belgian Prime Minister in this story?
The Belgian Prime Minister is Bart De Wever.

2. What gift did he prepare for PM Modi?
He had a replica of India Gate made entirely out of Belgian chocolate.

3. Why wasn't the gift given to Modi?
De Wever feared the chocolate replica would melt during the long journey, so he left it behind.

4. When did this story come out?
De Wever shared the story at a joint press conference with PM Modi on September 3.

5. Does the gift still exist?
Yes, a backup chocolate model of the same design is being kept safe in Belgium.

6. Why did De Wever choose India Gate specifically?
Because India Gate is a memorial to thousands of Indian soldiers who died in the First World War.

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