CCBLA - Arab-Belgium-Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce - ABLCC

THE 6TH ARAB BELGIUM LUXEMBURG ECONOMIC FORUM - 30th November 2010

The 6th edition of the Economic Forum of the ABLCC was held in Brussels on November 30,2010 and concluded successfully its discussions on the ways of strengthening the economic and financial relations between Belgium, Luxemburg and the Arab countries.

In the opening session, H.E. Mr Steven Vanackere, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, highlighted the historical relations between the Arab world and Europe, defining these relations as "the engine of growth" for the economies of both parties.

The first session of the Forum focused on the economies of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, the guests of honour of the meeting. Speakers stressed the economic and investment climate in these countries, underlining the legislative framework and the measures offering increased opportunities for cooperation.

The second session of the meeting highlighted the Belgian and Luxemburg skills and technology in the field of renewable energy, logistics, transport and infrastructure development, while the representative of the European Investment Bank presented the projects funded by the EIB in the Arab countries.

Close to 200 specialists participated in the Forum, along with a significant number of representatives of companies working in various sectors and official institutions dealing with the economic cooperation with the Arab world.  The Forum thus provided a unique platform to discuss the commercial and financial relations and the role played by the Chamber in reinforcing the cooperation.

SEMINAR ON "water Reuse and Desalination : Experience and Opportunity", 28-29 September 2010, Cham Palace, Damascus, Syria

The Network of Syrian Scientists, Technologists and Innovators Abroad (NOSSTIA) is organizing, under the high patronage of the Prime Minister of Syria, HEM Naji Otri, and in partnership with the International Desalination Association and the Levant Desalination Association, a seminar on 28-29 September 2010, at the Cham Palace, Damascus, Syria.

The seminar will focus on "Water Reuse and Desalination: Experience and Opportunity"

Mr Ghassan EJJEH, Director of BESIX in Belgium and Member of the Board of Directors at the CCBLA, will be a guest speaker at this event.

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Seminar "Doing Business with the Arab Countries" - September 22,2010

CCBLA organised on 22 September 2010 a seminar "Doing Business with the Arab Countries" in the premises of SGS House in Antwerp.  This event was organized in cooperation with the Belgian Federation for technology industry Agoria and the inspection testing and verification company SGS and in presence of about 100 participants.

Important themes were presented and debated such as the business climate and opportunities in Algeria the Banking system in the Gulf Region, the causes of commercial disputes in contracts between European and Middle East enterprises, the pre-shipment inspections induced by bank or client in the Arab countries, the certificates of conformity required by the authorities in Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and market penetration in Gulf countries and subsidiary location.

Meeting between the General Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce Industry and Agriculture of Arab countries and the European Investment Bank , July 7,2010

In the frame of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2009 between the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Arab countries and the European Investment Bank, a meeting took place on July 7,2010, in the premises of the EIB in Luxemburg, between the Secretary General of GUCCIAAC, Dr Imad Shehab, the Director of the European Neighbor and Partner Countries department of the EIB, Mr Claudio Cortese, Head of Unit of the Institutional and Policy Unit at the EIB Mr Ioannis Kaltsas, and with the participation of the Secretary General of the CCBLA Mr Qaisar Hijazin, in order to discuss the further cooperation and to set up a working plan.

The two parties agreed on the necessity of implementing the MoU and underlined several bases for cooperation, among which:

-  the support of the EIB in the preparation of policy papers focusing on the economic developments in Arab countries, and the preparation of annual surveys about the progress achieved by the private sector in general in Arab countries and by the SME's in particuliar.

-  Keeping the EIB informed about the financial and technical needs for the big and medium projects in Arab countries, about the opportunities of investment and the infrastructural projects, in order to obtain European and international funds for these projects.

-  The two parties also discussed the organization of training and capacity building programs and business roundtables about economic and financial affairs and where European and Arab experts can exchange best practices and strategies.

-  The parties also agreed on organizing an annual economic forum "Euro-Med Chambers Congress" between the EIB, the European Commission, the Chambers of Commerce of the Mediterranean and Arab countries, in order to enhance the cooperation in trade, commerce, investments and finance. 

Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants inaugurates 24 oil storage tanks in Antwerp (June 24,2010)

 On June 24, the Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants (KPIL), which operates commercially under the Brand name Q8Oils, inaugurated 24 new oil storage tanks on the site of its Antwerp lubricant blending plant, in the presence of the Ambassador of Kuwait to Belgium, H.E. Mrs Nabeela Al-Mulla, the President of KPIL in Belgium, Mr Hussein Ismail, Antwerp's Deputy Mayor Mr Robert Voorhamme, the Managing Director of KPIL in Belgium, Mr Giuliano Franzi, the CCBLA represented by the Secretary General, Mr Qaisar Hijazin, Belgian officials, energy managers and workers at the plant.

The Deputy Mayor of Antwerp underlined the importance of this kind of investments as showing "the confidence in relations between Kuwait and Belgium" and the strategic assets of Antwerp which is one of the Europe's largest sea ports and is also home to the second largest petrochemical industrial complex in the world, as well as being one of the world's most important centers for the diamond trade.

Mr Ismail underlined that "Belgium, particularly Antwerp, has been at the centre of KPIL's European strategy for many years".  The strategic link to the sea and its central location in Europe makes Belgium an important trade partner for the Kuwaitis as well.

At the inaugural ceremony, the Ambassador of Kuwait to Belgium, HE Mrs Nabeela Al-Mulla, stated that the opening of the new plant is a "symbol of strenghtening ties between Kuwait and the Kingdom of Belgium" and expressed that "Kuwait is blessed with a leadership that has a clear-sighted vision for the future as well as a strong economy that is capable of pursuing infrastructural projects both at home and abroad.  We are determined to maintain our presence in Antwerp".

In Belgium, Q8 is best known for its many service stations along the roads and has an extended retail network of over 300 petrol stations in the country. KPIL has invested more than 20 million Euros in the new plant "to ensure we meet our environmental responsibilities and prove our commitment to being truly world class" said Mr Ismail.  The tanks have a storage capacity of 36 million liters and replace the old tanks which have been dismantled  and removed from the site. The facility is the largest of its four lubricant blending plants and supplies the vast majority of Q8Oils customers in Europe, as well as producing for third parties and other lubricant companies.

Roundtable for Mauritania (June 22 and 23,2010)

HE Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf

Under the High patronage of HE Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, and with the support of the European Union and the collaboration of its partners to development, Mauritania organized on June 22 and 23 2010, a roundtable in Brussels, aiming mainly at presenting the strategic orientations of the government and its public Investment program and mobilizing the partners to development to contribute to financing the Government’s public Investment program, presenting the priority projects for the period 2011-2013 with a global budget amounting to 4,2 billion USD, and the opportunities of investment in the key sectors in Mauritania:

• Oil and Gas: research, exploration, exploitation of oil and gas fields, liquefaction project, etc
• Mining: research, exploration of the basement, mines and carrying exploitation, etc
• Tourism: leisure activities, Saharan tourism, eco-hotels, seaside resorts, lodges, etc
• Agriculture: vegetables and fruits, Arabic gum, cereals, animal feeds
• Fishing: landing infrastructure, aquaculture, traditional and on-shore fishing, technical and commercial partnerships, etc
• Livestock: red meat, leather and skin, milk and dairy products

CCBLA General Assembly (June 9,2010)

On the occasion of its Annual General Assembly, the CCBLA organized on June 9,2010, a business lunch in the presence of H.E. the Ambassador of Kuwait to the EU and Belgium, Mrs Nabeela Abdulla Al-Mulla, as a guest speaker and  with the participation of one hundred persons.

In her speech on the Kuwait Presidency of the GCC, Mrs Al-Mulla underlined the strong financial position and stable economic perspective of GCC countries and the various investment opportunities existing in the GCC countries.  Mrs Al-Mulla mentioned two major projects, initiated under the Kuwaiti presidency of the GCC, the set-up of a unified power grid system and a railway system between the GCC countries and for which the GCC is committed to invest 109 billion dollars over the next 10 years. H.E. announced that Kuwait will inaugurate next month a new petrol storage facility in Antwerp, with an investment of 34 million dollars, while the GCC ranks fifth among the EU partners.

The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finances, Mr Didier Reynders, was represented by Mr Jan Bayart, Diplomatic Advisor to the Belgian State Secretary for European Affairs, who presented the Future prospects for the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council" and exposed the main challenges ahead in the field of institutional, economy, social dimension of the economy, energy & climate & environment, justice and home affairs and enlargement.

The President of the CCBLA, Mr Johan Beerlandt, underlined that the trade between the EU and GCC reaches 90 billion Euros and that the relations among the two parties are growing rapidly in many sectors such as healthcare, education and strategic cooperation adding that the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and the EU and the development of the GCC Common Market will further reinforce this cooperation.

The Secretary General, Mr Qaisar Hijazin, thanked H.E. Mrs Al-Mulla, Mr Jan Bayart, the Ambassadors, the Diplomatic Counselors, the Members of the Board of the Chamber for their participation in the event and their support to the Chamber.

Forum Interentreprise Maghreb-Belgium (May 19)

In cooperation with the Arab Belgium Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce, the Cabinet OSMOTEAN Consulting organized on May 19,2010, within the framework of a project financed by the program Invest in Med, a Forum Interenterprise Maghreb-Belgium for the entrepreneurial innovation, about the set-up of a network between Belgian companies and the CID (Center of Young Leaders) of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.

One hundred companies  took part in this event which proceeded under the High Patronage of the Ambassadors of these 3 countries : H.E. Mr Abdessalem HETIRA, Ambassador of Tunisia, H.E. Mr Amar BENDJAMA, Ambassador of Algeria and HEMr Samir ADDAHRE, Ambassador of Morocco.

The Mayor of Nivelles, Mr Pierre HUART, and Mr Emmanuel DEGREVE, Chief of Cabinet of Mr Bernard CLERFAYT, Secretary of State to the Modernization of the SPF Finances, were also present at this event.

This Forum allowed to bring together experts on the Maghreb around a debate and an exchange of experience on  existing opportunities in these 3 countries, and to present the innovative companies of the Maghreb in 5 main sectors : aeronautics, agroalimentary, health, environment or new energies and technologies information and communication TIC.

The Forum was followed by a program of individual meetings and matchmaking during which the companies of the Maghreb met the Belgian companies and had the occasion to find partners to consolidate their project of export towards Europe and the Belgian companies also had opportunities to find partners for their development towards the South.

 Economic and Commercial Mission to Oman and Qatar (10-16 April 2010)

The ABLCC successfully conducted an economic and commercial mission to the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar from April 10-16th,2010.  The delegation was accompanied by H.E. Mr Michel Lastschenko, Ambassador of Belgium for Oman, and H.E. Mr Luc Devolder, Belgian Ambassador for Qatar, and composed of representatives from 16 companies working in various fields of activity.

The delegation had a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Oman to evaluate the means to further reinforce the economic and financial cooperation.  The Chairman of the Chamber, Mr Khalil bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Khonji, stressed the possibilities to develop the relations, especially in the field of energy (oil and gas), tourism, engineering and maritime projects.  He highlighted the opportunities to develop large-scale projects such as aluminium refining and heavy industries based on oil and gas.

The members of the delegation furthermore were informed in detail on the investment opportunities in Oman and the initiatives of the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development 'OCEDI).

Last but not least, the visit to the Sultanate offered Port of Antwerp International the opportunity to sign an agreement to develop the Port of Duqm, a future hub for industry and trade.

In the State of Qatar, the delegation had a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce under the Chairmanship of HE Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tawar, member of the Executive Board and with the participation of HE Mr Luc Devolder, Ambassador of Belgium and Mr Mounif Kilani, Commercial Attaché.  Qatar is now the third largest Arab trade partner for Belgium and the signature of a cooperation agreement between the ABLCC and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce in 2008 led to a considerable increase in relations. Speakers during the meeting also stressed the importance of the contract on the import of Qatari gas through Belgium, offering considerable perspectives for Belgium to become a major distribution centre for Qatari gas in Europe.  The contract led to a significant increase in trade exchanges and a growing number of partnerships between Qatari and Belgian companies.

The delegation and their Qatari counterpart also focussed their discussions on the development of Islamic Banking in Europe in the wake of the global financial crisis and the growing interest for the financial instruments offered by the Islamic banking institutions.

Conference CCBLA-BECI : Rationalization of Energy and Energy-Efficient Buildings (4 February 2010)

The main speakers of the Conference were Mr François Lederer representing BESIX and Mr Freddy Vandaele representing Agoria.

Mr Lederer explained the question of Energy Performance of Buildings and the consequences for design and execution and gave a testimony on othe measures taken on the side and their effects in reduction of energy consumption.

Mr Vandaele did a presentation on "Energy efficient buildings : reasons, possibilities and return on investment.

The conference was followed by a debate where participants, big companies and enterprises of various sectors such as construction, real estate, energy, automotive, exchanged views and positions on the topics of reduction of energy consumption, before concluding the conference with a cocktail.

Round table : Business opportunities in Morocco and Outsourcing in the Benelux (27th January 2010)

The Morocco Economic Development Zones (MEDZ) organized on 27th January 2010 in cooperation with our Chamber a round table on Outsourcing in the Benelux to exchange insights and best practices in the IT and business process outsourcing field.

The Conference took place in the premises of the Conference and Business Center of Agoria in Brussels and was chaired by Mr Armand Angeli, VP of the European Outsourcing Association (EOA).

The Ambassador of Morocco in Belgium, H.E. Mr Samir Addahre, and the Secretary General of CCBLA, Mr Qaisar Hijazin, opened the floor, underlining the strategic advantages of Morocco for the business and investments opportunities in the country and for becoming one of the top destinations for outsourcing, and the key sector opportunities for Belgian and European enterprises such as construction, tourism, automotive, energy, etc..

Mr Anouar Atmani, Strategies & Business development Director at Casanearshore-MEDZ, exposed the importance and the advantages of the Moroccan market as well as Morocco's offshoring strategy aiming at strenghening the country's attractiveness.  Mr Atmani invited the participants to plan missions to Morocco, to assess the potential and opportunities that the Moroccan market has to offer for business and investments.

For more information, plse visit www.casanearshore.com

 Business Workshop : Belgian Ambassadors in the Arab countries (11 January 2010)

Following the economic missions presided by HRH Prince Philippe in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab  Emirates and in Morocco and on the occasion of the Diplomatic Days and the New year, the CCBLA organised on 11th January 2010 in collaboration with BECI a workshop gathering the Belgian Ambassadors in the Arab countries.

On this occasion, Their Excellencies Mr Michel Lastschenko, Mrs Anick Van Calster and Mr Jean Luc Bodson, took the floor to share their reflections and reactions following those important missions underlining the importance and the necessity of a follow up by the Belgian enterprises.

The meeting was followed by a reception that allowed the Belgian participants to have contacts and to exchange their points of view with the Ambassadors in the Arab countries.