Bekaert’s problems involve the manufacture of the wire used to saw silicon into wafers for use in solar cells, in a business that faces overcapacity and increased competition from local producers in China, while the market for solar panels has plummeted following the scrapping of subsidies in several European countries, including Slovakia, Germany and Belgium. In addition to Aalter, jobs will be lost at head office in Zwevegem and at a plant in Ingelmunster, as well as the R&D centre in Deerlijk, all in West Flanders.

“The Ostend East India company, Oostendse Compagnie, moored its first ship in Banquibazar in 1723 on the riverside of the Hoogly, a tributary of the Ganga in Bengal,” he begins. Other ships of the company followed, and Low Country merchants received concessions and settlement rights in the region from the Nawab of Murshidabad, a local governor. The trade went both ways, and by the end of the 1770s, the region was known in India for its quality glass and its iron and steel products.

“Where will we find the people for these jobs?” he asked at a recent meeting at VBO, the Belgian Employers Union. Not in the classic reserve of those aged 20 to 49, he says. “We should forget about fixed retirement ages. Instead, we should think in terms of career length. People should work for at least 45 years, irrespective of when they start.”

Flanders has many ties with southern Africa: both Mozambique and South Africa are so-called partner countries for development aid; there are economic links; and then there is, of course Afrikaans, a relative of the Dutch language.