Kolkata: The Indian Chamber of Commerce organized an exclusive session on business opportunities for Indian companies in Flanders, Belgium. The session was held at the Bengal Club on Tuesday.
The session highlighted the business and investment potential in Flanders in the presence of Babette Desfossez, Trade and Investment Commissioner for Flanders, Filippe De Potter, Director, and Global Co-Ordinator, Inward Investment, Flanders Investment and Trade, Brussels Daljit Singh Kohli, Indian Representative- Port of Antwerp- Bruges and Pradeep Sureka, President, ICC.
Babette Desfossez, Trade and Investment Commissioner for Flanders said “Flanders is centrally located, right in the heart of Europe, it is a prime business location. 60% of Europe’s purchasing power comes from Flanders. We are an export-driven economy. In 2020 and 2021, most of the imports and exports were of precious stones and metals and also chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery equipment and so on.”
Filippe De Potter, Director and Global Co-Ordinator, Inward Investment, Flanders Investment and Trade, Brussels said “The gateway to Europe is Flanders, as it is geographically well connected with extremely powerful neighbours. 70 billion exports to Germany and around 1 billion trade on a weekly basis with France. We have numerous, thousands, medium-sized businesses in our region. We see the demand, growth, and potential in India and believe that Flanders will help in growing your business.
Daljit Singh Kohli, Indian Representative- Port of Antwerp- Bruges said, “The Port of Antwerp- Bruges is Europe’s second largest port. It is around 14,322 hectares and is a multi-operational port. The port is well connected with more than 1200 locations. The Port of Antwerp- Bruges keeping in mind the sustainable development goals is trying to reduce its carbon footprints and capture it for future uses.”
Pradeep Sureka, President of ICC said “In 2021, exports and imports from Flanders were close to 6 billion euros. Synergy is the key concept of Flanders and it is not new to Indian Enterprises. India is one of the most significant Asian trading partners of Flanders.