Brussels State Secretary for International Relations and Foreign Trade Pascal Smet leads the trade mission in Dubai and will represent the Brussels Region on Saturday during the Belgian Day at the World Expo 2020, in presence of the Belgian royal couple. Despite the doomsday scenarios that were announced at the beginning of the pandemic, the Brussels economy showed resilience and is still on its feet. The region’s strong international approach plays a major role in this. Consequently, the Brussels business support agency hub.brussels will highlight some of its thriving sectors during the economic mission in Dubai.
The fintech, for example, is of international level, and Brussels sustainable construction is attracting international interest because of its transformation from a city made for cars to a city tailored for people. Being the second most international city in the world after Dubai, Brussels can also count on a vibrant cultural scene. The substantive focus during this economic mission is therefore on the financial sector, the urban planning sector and the cultural and artistic sector.
The busy schedule includes a forum on sustainable urban development, workshops and panel discussions, company visits and presentations, and site visits to various urban development projects. Representatives of hub.brussels will guide the Brussels companies on-site to meet potential customers, build networks and exchange knowledge. At the world’s fair, a traditional Ommegang procession will take place on Wednesday, and the Jazz Station Big Band will pay homage to the music of Brussels jazz legend Toots Thielemans, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year.
The mission will end with a visit to the The Brussels Corner in the Dubai Design District. In this showroom, Brussels entrepreneurs such as Lunetier Ludovic, #NICECOM, Botaniets, Gleam gallery, Maison Vervloet, Mira visual creations, Roseline d’Oreye, Marie’s corner, Mlle Jadron, present their products and services to the general public. After the mission, a Belgian Day will be held on Saturday 5 February in the Belgian pavilion at the world’s fair. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will be present, along with State Secretary Pascal Smet, who will represent the Brussels Region.
“Despite the difficult situation of the past two years, the Brussels economy is doing really well. This has a lot to do with our international efforts. We are positioning Brussels more than ever as the gateway to Europe, but also as the very people-minded, diverse and creative city it is. During this economic mission, we consciously highlight our financial sector, our urban planning sector and our cultural and artistic sector. Together with more than 65 Brussels companies and organisations, we show the assets of Brussels to the business hub of Western Asia,” said Pascal Smet, Brussels State Secretary for International Relations and Foreign Trade.
The Brussels delegation is led by State Secretary for International Relations and Foreign Trade Pascal Smet and includes representatives of hub.brussels, employer’s organisation Agoria, the Brussels construction federation, the professional real estate federation UPSI, Belgian Finance Center, FinTech Belgium, finance & invest.brussels, ISFIN, representatives of over 65 Brussels financial and urban planning companies, and graduates of the Executive Master in Real Estate at the Université Saint-Louis. The cultural and artistic part of the mission does not only include the music of jazz legend Toots Thielemans and the Jazz Station Big Band, but also the Ommegang procession and the Brussels origami artist Charles Kaisin.
Photos: LinkedIn / Pascal Smet
