Ambassador of Kazakhstan and Governor of the Antwerp Province discussed cooperation prospects
Antwerp, Belgium, November 29, 2021 – Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan visited the province of Antwerp, where he met with Governor of the province, Cathy Berx, and CEO of the VOKA-Antwerpen Chamber of Commerce, Luc Luwel. The meetings were also attended by the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in the region, John Stoop.
Discussing with Governor Berx the current state and prospects of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Belgium, the Kazakh diplomat informed about the results of the official visit of the President of Kazakhstan Tokayev to Brussels (November 25-26, 2021), as well as the results of the business mission of Belgian enterprises to Kazakhstan. Eleven Belgian enterprises took part in the economic mission led by the AWEX and FIT regional agencies, and held a number of B2B meetings in Nur-Sultan and Almaty from 22 to 24 November 2021.
The Belgian side was provided with information on the ongoing political and socio-economic reforms in Kazakhstan, initiated by the Head of State.
Within the framework of economic diplomacy, the parties discussed the prospects for cooperation in such areas as port technology, biotechnology, chemical industry, and green energy. A separate topic of conversation was the development of a green economy. In this context, the interlocutors were informed about the new Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the adoption by Kazakhstan of the Doctrine of achieving carbon neutrality until 2060 and the Strategy for low-carbon development. Belgium has also adopted a strategy that provides for a phased transformation of the country into a center for the import and transit of renewable hydrogen.
Today, Antwerp ranks 4th in the world and 2nd in Europe in container traffic, in this regard, the Head of the Belgian province noted the potential for expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan in the transport and logical sphere within the framework of the international transport corridor, as well as development initiatives connectivity.
C.Berx welcomed the growing dynamics of the development of bilateral cooperation between the countries in all areas. Expressed interest in visiting the regions of Kazakhstan.
At a meeting with the CEO of the VOKA-Antwerpen Chamber of Commerce and Industry L.Luwel, the Kazakh Ambassador spoke in detail about the investment climate, export and investment opportunities for Flemish companies in Kazakhstan, as well as the prospects for transit interaction between the two countries within the international transport corridor.
The parties welcomed the signing of two memorandums of cooperation between the Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan and the chambers of commerce and industry of Brussels BECI, as well as VOKA-Antwerpen, which were signed on November 26 in Brussels on the sidelines of a high-level visit.
The head of the Antwerp Chamber of Commerce, with about 3,000 members and representing about 66% of jobs in the region, expressed an interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan and suggested organizing a visit of Flemish enterprises to Kazakhstan in 2022.
On the multilateral track, the parties discussed issues of regional security, the situation in Afghanistan, as well as Kazakhstan’s humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and the temporary deployment of the UN Mission to Assist Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Almaty, etc.
As a result of the meetings, an agreement was reached on rendering assistance in organizing visits of the Governor of Antwerp Province and Flemish enterprises to Kazakhstan, as well as organizing a visit of one of the regions of Kazakhstan to this Belgian region.
There are 13 chambers of commerce in Belgium, 8 of which are represented in Flanders under the name VOKA: Antwerp, Brussels, Limburg, Mechelen, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, West Flanders, and the national Voka.
The Flemish Chamber of Commerce Voka is the largest employer organization in Flanders. Today the Voka Chamber of Commerce and Industry represents the interests of over 18 thousand companies in Flanders and Brussels. Thus, it covers 65% of private employment and 66% of value-added in Flanders. In total, Voka member companies have over 910,000 employees.