Newsletter March 2019
Flash Info
ABLCC Business Handbook: SPECIAL EDITION
The Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the publication, both in hard and soft copies, of the special edition of their Business Handbook, which is a first-class guide to:
- the ABLCC growing network of members along with their contact details
- Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg official institutions
- professional organizations
This Business Handbook also provides valuable economic information on Belgium and Luxembourg in the Arabic language.
Last but not least it is meant to reach a target audience of more than 5,000 people, be they trade officials or stakeholders, in Belgium, Luxembourg, and 22 Arab countries.
To consult the online version of this issue: click here
Is the name of your business missing in this edition and you want to be part of it for the next edition?
Please feel free to contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to take immediate steps to put your business under the spotlight!
Certificate of Accreditation
We are proud to announce that the Quality Label of Accredited Chamber granted to the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce has been renewed for the period 2019-2021!
Emirates : special discounted fares offered to ABLCC members
We are pleased to inform that ABLCC Members may take advantage of a 5% discount on EK worldwide fares valid until the end of 2019.
Emirates flies to over 155 destinations across six continents with a gastronomic cuisine, inspired by their destinations, paired with a wide range of drinks.
Complimentary Chauffeur Drive Service is offered to Premium passengers to 70 cities around the world.
ICE, Emirates award-winning personal inflight entertainment system has over 4.000 channels of music, movies, games and live sports.
New Hope Foundation Belgium - Charitable Gala Invitation
On behalf of Charity New Hope Foundation Belgium, you’re cordially invited to their Paralympic Gala awareness and funds raising in assistance to Paralympic HANDICAPS on Tuesday 30th April 2019 at Palais 10 Brussels Expo Heysel.
This gala is based on generosity funds raising to enable New Hope Foundation Belgium accomplish its International Handicap Funding Project.
During this convivial evening that will help raise funds for our foundation, they will offer a pleasant dinner which will end with an admirable concert, plus an exceptional show of professional wrestlers and boxers in collaboration with the World Wrestling boxing League.
Charity New Hope Foundation Belgium will be pleased to welcome you amongst their distinguished invitees and will be delighted to honour contestants with a trophy that will be distributed by a jury composed of emblematic figures from the world of sports (Journalists, Officials and Organizers of the Paralympic Games) in appreciation to all of their valuable disabled Sportsmen.
More information :
Website and social networks:
https://newhopefoundationbelgium.org/
https://www.facebook.com/New-Hope-Foundation-Belgium-332259610735877/
Mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
They talk about us
The ABLCC is 40 years old: interview cycle
Ms Fabienne L’Hoost, Director General – Belgian Foreign Trade Agency
Future activities of the ABLCC
#Yes2Belgium Election Debate
03 April 2019
Organized by 12 different Chambers of Commerce, it will feature leading personalities from 10 different parties, such as Johan Van Overtveldt (N-VA) and Wouter Beke (CD&V), who will discuss their priorities to get more companies to say #Yes2Belgium.
Tunisian Business delegation to Belgium and Luxembourg
23 - 26 April 2019
We are pleased to inform that the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in close collaboration with FIPA Tunisia, the Embassy of Tunisia in Belgium, the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg, Hub.Brussels, AWEX, and FIT, will welcome a delegation of Tunisian Business men and women for a BELUX Road show on 23-26 April 2019:
Brussels: 23-24 April
- Private Cocktail reception hosted by HE Ridha Ben Mosbah, Ambassador of Tunisia to Belgium (upon invitation only)
- On-site visits
- Economic Seminar
- Tunisian business lunch
- Pre-arranged B2B meetings
Luxembourg: 25-26 April
- Pre-arranged B2B meetings
- Economic seminar
- Networking reception
- On-site visits
We encourage you to consult this web page regularly so as not to miss registration opening!
!!!Limited number of places!!!
For more information, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABLCC Board meeting and Economic forum
13 June 2019
The Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that they will hold their Board Meeting and General Assembly on 13 June 2019 in the premises of BNP Paribas Fortis(Rue Royale 20 – 1000 Brussels).
As is our custom, in the Afternoon, we will hold our high-level Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Forum which will address current trade and economic issues thanks to the intervention of international experts.
We encourage you to consult the ABLCC website regularly so as to keep updated on this important annual event!!!
For more information, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Exclusive Interview with His Excellency Al Budaiwi, Ambassador of Kuwait to Belgium
Kuwait, which enjoys a strategic geographical location is a country embarking on the road to a prosperous future with the launch of the New Kuwait Vision 2035.
On the occasion of the visit a Belgian Business Mission organized by FIT, Awex, and hub.brussels to the State of Kuwait beginning of March 2019, the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce seized the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with His Excellency Al Budaiwi.
Indeed, we wanted to give our readers a clear picture about the changing business environment in the country and opportunities that lay ahead for Belgian and Luxembourg companies.
First of all, could you elaborate on the relationship between Kuwait and the EU, and more precisely with Belgium and Luxembourg, both at the economic and social level?
With the Kingdom of Belgium, the State of Kuwait is primarily focused on its bilateral relationship and increasing cooperation in all aspects and fields. We share a close, historic, and friendly relationship with Belgium and cooperate on a lot of international issues. Currently, Belgium and Kuwait share membership on the United Nations Security Council and this has only deepened our cooperation on a broad range of international issues. On the economic sector, a delegation of Belgian businesspeople recently visited Kuwait on a mission to boost mutual investment and cooperation between our two countries. There are investments in all of Belgium’s cities from the Kuwait Petroleum International and there are lots of investments by Kuwaiti businessmen in the Belgian real estate sector. The Embassy believes that the future between Belgium and Kuwait is full of opportunities for further investment and the exchange of goods.
Did you know?
• The highest currency in the world is none other than Kuwaiti Dinar or KWD
• Commercial export of crude oil began in 1946
• Failaka Island, which history dates back to the early stone age, is considered the most beautiful of Kuwait’s Islands.
• Nearly 98% of the population in Kuwait is urbanized, and about 83% of the total population resides in the capital, Kuwait City.
• Major cities are the capital, Kuwait City, together with Jahrah, while the main residential and business areas are Salmiya and Hawalli and the main industrial area is Shuwaikh.
• The official language is Arabic. However, English is also widely used as a business language.
• Established in 1905, the Antwerp blending plant is at the heart of q8 oils’ European operations.
• Since early May 2014, Kuwait Petroleum International has opened its first highway site in Capellen, Luxembourg. This is Q8’s largest site ever as well as the third largest site worldwide
The State of Kuwait and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg cooperate on a broad range of economic issues. Q8, the international subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, owns and operates the third largest gas station in the world which is located in Luxembourg. Kuwait and Luxembourg have signed a number of economic and technical agreements focusing on boosting cooperation and investment between our two countries. I am also pleased to announce that Kuwait and Luxembourg are embarking on a double taxation treaty to further boost economic cooperation.
The European Union and the State of Kuwait cooperate on a broad range of issues as we share the same set of core principles and values. Most notably together we have co-chaired a number of humanitarian conferences promoting aid and reconstruction in Iraq and Syria and supporting the plight of the Rohingya people. In the past few years the friendly relations and cooperation between the EU and Kuwait has only deepened with the signing of the Cooperation Agreement, the recent Senior Officials’ Meeting, and the upcoming opening of the EU delegation in Kuwait.
How would you describe the Kuwaiti Market? What are its main assets?
The Kuwaiti market is at its core stable, open, competitive, and always growing.
Kuwait has advanced to the 54th position in the annual report of the 2018 Global Competitiveness Index, published by the World Economic Forum. Kuwait scored extremely well in macroeconomic stability and has shown improvement in the indices of judicial independence, press freedom, reduction of burdens of government regulations that negatively affect economic competitiveness.
In the banking sector Kuwaiti banks are expected to post higher annual earnings in 2019 driven by more lending as the government presses ahead with project spending and consumer confidence improves. The banking sector posted its strongest earnings growth among our Arabian Gulf peers with a 19 per cent increase in the first nine months of the year.
Our main assets can be found though the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) the world’s first, oldest, and fifth largest with a value exceeding $600 billion. Kuwait uses these funds to invest in its future generations and assist in diversifying the economy.
Foreign direct investment is seen as key to the economic diversification plans outlined in the Kuwait Vision 2035 roadmap. Indeed, a law on foreign investment, enacted in 2013, was implemented in 2015. Could you give us an insight of the advantages that Kuwait has introduced in an effort to facilitate and encourage foreign investment?
Kuwait, under the Kuwait Vision 2035, has already begun facilitating and encouraging foreign investment. The Kuwait Vision 2035 aims to transform the country into a world class financial and commercial center. Kuwait has sought to encourage additional foreign investment in the country through the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) which provides all the information prospective investors may need. Kuwait boasts a strategic location, open market economy, stable government, sound banking system and is in the process of major development projects.
One of the major development projects currently in the works is the Madinat al-Hareer or Silk City. Kuwait’s Silk City has plans to develop a state-of-the-art port, environmental areas, conference areas, a business center, a new airport, and concentrate on health, education, tourism, and industry. Upon completion the Silk City project is projected to include housing for over 700,000 people and create over 450,000 new jobs. Kuwait is also investing heavily in renewable energy in fact the first phase of the Al-Shagaya Renewable Energy Project was recently inaugurated. This complex includes 70 megawatts of power generated from solar, wind, thermal, and electro optic resources. Kuwait has set aside 630,000 square meters of land for establishing solar energy facilities.
In your opinion, what could be done to bring in more Belgian/Luxembourg investments in Kuwait and what are the main sectors that hold the best opportunities for them?
A lot can be done to encourage additional Belgian and Luxembourgish investments in Kuwait. As part of the Kuwait Vision 2035, Kuwait has initiated a number of development projects that are certain to interest international investors. Additionally, boosting cooperation and trust through trade delegations, high level visits, and signing bilateral and multilateral agreements would further encourage investments. New laws and regulations in Kuwait now allow foreign investors to own 100% of the company’s capital. This will encourage more companies to enter the Kuwaiti market.
The sectors that hold the best opportunities for investment include the petrochemical sector, construction, infrastructure, and most importantly the renewable sector.
As a final question, what would be your advice to Belgian and Luxembourg companies to help them distinguish themselves from other foreign competitors in the State of Kuwait?
In order for Belgian and Luxembourgish companies to distinguish themselves from other foreign competitors in the Kuwaiti market they can follow these three points:
- a) It is important to increase communication and transparency when dealing with one another other.
- b) It is also important to understand the local culture as businesses and enterprises in Kuwait prefer to think of business dealings as more mutually beneficial agreements.
- c) Belgian and Luxembourgish companies must remain continuously engaged with Kuwait by taking part in regular dialogues, visits, and always seeking new opportunities.
The Kuwaiti market provides opportunities for investors in a number of different fields and provides a stable and fair place to conduct business.
More information on regulations, procedures and concrete investment opportunities
Visit:
- Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry: http://www.kuwaitchamber.org.kw/echamber/website/index.jsp
- Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA): https://kdipa.gov.kw/en/
- Kuwaiti General Administration of Customs: https://www.customs.gov.kw/
- Kuwait Government Online: https://www.e.gov.kw/sites/kgoEnglish/Pages/HomePage.aspx
- Kuwait Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI): http://www.moci.gov.kw/
- Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mofa.gov.kwhttps://www.kdipa.gov.kw/en/
- Economic & Commercial representation of Belgium in Kuwait: http://kuwait.invest-export.brussels/fr/
Past activities
Arab-Belgian Diplomatic Business meeting
29 January 2019
It has now been 10 years since the first edition of the now renowned « Arab-Belgian Diplomatic Business meeting » organized by the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in close relation with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Linklaters, on Tuesday 29 January 2019.
On the strength of its increasingly wide reputation, this highly prized event gathered more than 140 participants with top-level personalities such as:
HE Riad SALAME, Gouvernor of the Banque du Liban
HE Raoul DELCORDE, Ambassador and Director Middle-East North Africa, FPS Foreign Affairs, as guest speakers
Her Excellency Cécile JODOGNE, State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region, in charge of Foreign Trade
HE Raed CHARAFEDDINE, first Vice-Governor of the Banque du Liban
The ABLCC was also particularly delighted to welcome 22 Arab and Belgian Ambassadors.
Private meeting at the Residence of HE Albudaiwi, Ambassador of Kuwait to Belgium
19 February 2019
On this occasion of the Belgian Economic Mission to Kuwait beginning of March, the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce took advantage of its privileged relationship with Arab Embassies and, in this particular case, with the Embassy of Kuwait, to give the participants the chance to meet in person with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, HE Albudaiwi, to find out more about the various business opportunities offered by Kuwait prior to the Mission, and to receive a personalized answer to their specific questions/needs.
They thus had the pleasure to invite Belgian entrepreneurs to a private cocktail reception hosted by HE Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Kingdom of Belgium, at His Residence on 19 February 2019.
“Morocco and Belgium: A Princely Mission for more powerful synergies”
07 March 2019
The Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with hub.brussels, Awex, and FIT, had the pleasure to invite their members and friends to a lunch-conference “Morocco and Belgium: A Princely Mission for more powerful synergies” in order to review alltogether the outcomes of the Belgian Economic Mission to Morocco headed by HRH Princess Astrid in November 2018.
Our guest speakers were:
- HE Mohamed AMEUR, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Brussels
- HE Cécile JODOGNE, State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region, in charge of Foreign Trade
- Mr. Nabil JIJAKLI, Deputy CEO at Credendo Group
New members
To ensure compliance with GDPR, personal contact details of our member companies are not anymore published. However, should you need specific business contacts, do not hesitate to contact us (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 02 344 82 04)!
SOFITEL
Sofitel Brussels Europe
Start your visit to the capital of Europe with a comfortable stay at the hotel presenting a masterful blend of contemporary chic and French art de Vivre.
Located in the heart of the European district, on the renovated Jourdan Square with his restaurants and bars , Sofitel Brussels Europe offers spacious bedrooms and an amazing Modern Brasserie The 1040.
An ideal atmosphere for business and Leisure.
The Place Jourdan works are quiet finished and the Sofitel Europe will open his new concept “Modern Brasserie by Jean Philippe Watteyne” on March 18th.
01 Place Jourdan, B-1040 Brussels
website: www.sofitel-brussels-europe.com
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Experience the heart and soul of the Belgian Capital at Sofitel Brussels Le Louise.
A spirited heaven of luxury that charms with its bright modern design, and warm attentive attitude.
It is an enchanting combination of an outstanding service, a relaxing atmosphere with our private terrace and a prestigious location with luxury shops and historical sights.
Our new restaurant will open on March 25th.
40 Avenue de la Toison d’or, B-1050 Brussels
website: www.sofitel-brussels-le-louise.com
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MYGO GROUP SPRL
myGO.pro your online wholesaler!
myGO.pro in an online tour operator based in Belgium with 9 other offices around the world (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Oman, Ivory coast, Senegal, Spain, Bulgaria)
We have a large variety of products: 600 000 Hotels, transfers, trains, cruises, car rentals and packages available worldwide.
In addition we provide XML integration for Travel portals.
myGO is a one stop-shop with more than 600,000 hotels, 72 suppliers and 40 DMCs worldwide, dedicated to: Travel agency, Corporate, Institution and Hotels.
You can contact us via Our helpdesk that is available 24H/7D, in different languages (French, English, Spanish, Turkish, Dutsh, Arabic, etc.)
131 B Avenue Louise, B- 1050 Ixelles
website: https://mygo.pro/
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SBI BMI
Activities : Provide capital and know-how for international investments made by Belgian private sector companies.
Avenue Louise 32, bte 13 B-1050 Bruxelles
website: www.bmi-sbi.be
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We thank our SPONSORS 2019
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Top reasons to become a member of the ABLCC
The Arab-Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ABLCC) informs and supports Belgian and Luxemburgish companies willing to export to or invest in the Arab world, and delivers the same services to Arab companies from the 22 Arab countries with their business projects for Belgium and Luxembourg.
ABLCC means organization of seminars and business trips, advice to Belgian, Luxembourgish and Arab companies, set-up of b2b and b2g-meetings, document certification, translation & visa services, publication of tenders and business opportunities, an extended economic and diplomatic network in the Benelux and the Arab world, a newsletter and business directory, and so much more.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or consult our website, www.ablcc.org.