The Belgian economic mission to the United States leads to numerous favorable agreements

Transcription

1 Press release Economic mission to the USA: June /08/ :00 The Belgian economic mission to the United States leads to numerous favorable agreements HRH Prince Philippe presided an economic mission to the United States (New York, Washington and Boston) from 22 to 30 June He was accompanied by Mr Steven Vanackere, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reform. Mr Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Mr Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice President and Minister for the Economy, SMEs, Foreign Trade and New Technology and Higher Education from the Walloon Government also participated in this mission. The Brussels-Capital Region was represented by Mr Benoît Cerexhe, Minister for the Economy, Employment, Scientific Research and Foreign Trade and by Mr Jean-Luc Vanraes, Minister for Finance, the Budget, Institutional Affairs and Foreign Relations for the Brussels-Capital Region. It was the first joint economic mission attended by all the Regional Ministers for foreign trade. The mission was attended by over 400 participants including the public sector and the press representing 300 companies, institutions and universities. HRH Princess Mathilde honoured this mission with her presence. OFFICIAL CONTACTS The official programme included high-level political contacts. HRH Prince Philippe and Mr Steven Vanackere met with Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States of America at the White House in Washington. A meeting with Senator John Kerry also took place at Capitol Hill. CITIES & KEY SECTORS The high number of participants confirmed the continued interest of Belgian companies in the colossal and high-performing American market that occupied fifth place on the list of Belgium s main customers in Four large sectors were of particular interest to the companies: pharma, biotech, ICT and finance. One should emphasise that in 2010 almost 57% of our exports to the United States came from the chemical sector, consisting more specifically of pharmaceutical products.

2 The vast majority of biotech companies enrolled in the mission participated at the largest international fair on the theme, the BIO INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION that was held in Washington between 27 and 30 June. The mission visited three important economic hubs on the northeast coast of the United States: New York The mission s starting point, New York, allowed companies to make numerous B2B contacts and to profile themselves in certain sectors such as the finance sector. Various activities proved to be highly successful for the participants: - a seminar entitled Financial Innovation: Belgian approach in the heart of Europe was organised by Brussels Invest & Export and Febelfin (in collaboration with FIT and AWEX) at the premises of Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), - a seminar entitled Pan European Pension Funds, Now a Reality organised by the BNY Mellon Bank at its offices on Wall Street, - a finance breakfast, an initiative of the Agoria Banking Club. A Bio-Pharma Networking lunch was also organised along with visits to American companies Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and IBM. Belgacom presented new cutting-edge technology before the official Belgian reception. This reception involved all participants in the joint economic mission and a number of businessmen. The Flemish Government organised a visit to Flanders House in New York, which was followed by a concert by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and a reception. Washington The main events organised in Washington were related to the BIO 2011 fair where Belgium was ranked in the top ten participating countries and where our biopharmaceutical companies made quite an impression. For this event the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency published a study that highlighted the expertise and skills of Belgian companies involved in biotechnology: Belgian biotechnology. This publication was widely distributed. BIO 2011 united seventy companies and organisations from three Regions on one stand. Two major events were planned around the theme of BIO 2011:

3 - Belgium: Governmental Funding Initiatives Boosting Biotech R&D session, during which HRH Prince Philippe highlighted the expertise and strengths of the Belgian biotechnology sector, - the official inauguration of the Belgian pavilion attended by the President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, Mr James C. Greenwood. In addition to the essential Belgian reception, an investment seminar How to make your voice heard in Brussels, Capital of Europe was also organised along with the following two events: - a seminar entitled Demystifying the US Market, in collaboration with the US Department of Commerce, - a session on the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Federal Government Agency that monitors food and medicine, attended by FDA Commissioner Dr Margaret Hamburg. Lastly the pharmaceutical company Merck organised a highly successful luncheon meeting featuring various presentations. Boston In Boston, there were working visits to the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Harvard University. Two visits were planned to the MIT, one to showcase various presentations (concentrating on research and energy, etc.), the other focused on the media. At Harvard University two events were planned at the Medical School : a presentation seminar by GSK and a second focusing on cell therapy in Wallonia. An important delegation of Belgian businessmen also participated in a presentation of the biotechnology company Genzyme at its offices, and visited the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. A UCB seminar was also held before the Belgian reception. SIGNED CONTRACTS New York 4DDynamics 3D Systems Corporation Copymetrics Campbell Soup Company Copymetrics Colgate Palmolive Company

4 Decizium Sa/ YourTour Philadelphia Conventions and Visitors Bureau Hercules Trophy International New York City Department of Parks and Recreation IP Trade Cisco IXSyS Health Net Connect, Inc. Washington Brussels Capital Region District of Columbia Visit Brussels Destination DC Press Club Brussels Europe The National Press Club Corsendonk Brewery L Knife and Son3 4DDynamics Digital Signal Corporation Septentrio NV Altus BMI/SBI Van Hool NV Stagecoach Group Boston Aphesa Vega Technology Group SerEX Consulting Accreon USA Université Catholique de Louvain MIT Cardio3 BioSciences S.A. Advanced Technology Materials

5 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Partcipant s brochure USA (PDF, 3.15 MB) COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Christelle Charlier Deputy Director Studies, Statistics and Communication Christelle.Charlier@abh-ace.be Kathleen Deridder Communications Manager Kathleen.Deridder@abh-ace.be ECONOMIC MISSIONS DEPARTMENT Rosemary Donck Press officer Rosemary.Donck@abh-ace.be Nele Demeulemeester Economic mission coordinator Nele.Demeulemeester@abh-ace.be Patrick Gillard Economic mission coordinator Patrick.Gillard@abh-ace.be Céline Vandermeersch Economic mission coordinator Celine.Vandermeersch@abh-ace.be WEBSITES BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE AGENCY Belgium consists of three autonomous Regions that are committed to the support of their international economic development. The Wallonia Trade & Investment Agency (AWEX) fulfils that role for Wallonia, Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) for Flanders and Brussels Invest & Export (BIE) for the Brussels-Capital Region. The Belgian Foreign Trade Agency is, in its capacity as a public institution, at the disposal of these three Regional authorities that promote exports, and also collaborates with the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs. On the one hand it contributes to organising joint economic missions; while on the other hand it operates as an information centre that deals with the various aspects relating to foreign trade. The Belgian Foreign Trade Agency therefore organises, develops and disseminates documentation (i.e. information for exporters, foreign trade statistics, country reports, sectoral studies, advice on international legislation and regulations, etc.) about domestic and foreign markets as well as bilateral relations. That is how the Agency acts as a vast platform in which the Federal competence of international relations and the Regional competence of foreign trade meet.