From April 4-11, Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium led a trade mission of more than 200 companies on a six-day tour of Russia, allowing Belgian companies to sign a raft of agreements with their Russian counterparts.
The Crown Prince, acting in his role of Honorary Chairman of Belgium’s Foreign Trade Board, was accompanied by some 330 business representatives and government officials from the country’s three regions, Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
“There will soon be huge infrastructure works in Russia, in particular with the organization of the Winter Olympics and of the Soccer World Cup. Coming to Russia now helps show where we are on the map,” Trade Minister of Wallonia Jean-Claude Marcourt said. Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere additionally stated that Belgium, which is currently Russia’s 17th trade partner, is determined to improve its position on the Russian market.
The visit was Belgium’s second largest economic mission ever, and a clear sign that Belgian businesses want to seize growing opportunities for investing in Russia. The delegation included representatives from a variety of sectors ranging from Belgium’s more traditional beer and waffle makers, to cutting-edge companies in the sectors health care, ICT and energy-efficiency. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin praised the visit, noting that Russia is “very interested in [Belgium’s] experience in developing modern technologies and equipment related to energy efficiency and renewable energies."
With the signing of more than 15 agreements between Russian and Belgian companies investing in Russia, the results were described as “impressive” by Walloon Minister Jean-Claude Marcourt. The deals included:
- A joint venture between lime producers Lhoist and TMK
- A production partnership between phosphate companies Prayon and PhosAgro
- A €15 million agreement between Lafimil and Russian group Sim Ross to jointly build an electric cable plant that Lafimil CEO John Dejaegher said would help his company “seize Russia’s huge growth potential with regard to electrification and expansion of its railway infrastructure.”
- A memorandum of understanding between Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB Pharma and Russia’s Binnofarm, that will result in the foreign drugmaker eventually localizing production, in line with Russia’s strategy to develop the pharmaceutical industry over the next 10 years.
St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko also invited Belgian companies to participate in a tender for the reconstruction and modernization of the city’s water supply system.
Other noteworthy exchanges included Prince Philippe’s meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller during which both parties discussed opportunities for deepening bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, such as expanding ties between Gazprom and Fluxys, Belgium’s main natural gas operator. The prince also inaugurated Russia’s main construction trade fair, MosBuild, where 18 Belgian companies are represented this year, and met with Skolkovo Fund President Viktor Vekselberg to discuss opportunities for Belgium’s participation in the high-tech hub. Vekselberg said Belgian firms have much to offer, especially in the areas of “nuclear technologies, IT, energy efficiency, biomedicine and space technologies.”
Lastly, echoing Russian celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight, Prince Philippe presented the Order of the Crown to Russian cosmonauts Sergei Zaletin, Roman Romanenko and Gennady Padalka, who in 2009 participated in a six-month space mission with Belgian astronaut Franc De Winne.
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