New Birmingham base to promote Belgian trade links
A senior Trade and Investment official has hailed the launch of a new Birmingham office as a key development to promote trading links with Belgium.
Claire Lammens, Trade and Investment Counsellor for Belgium and a member of Birmingham Consular Association, said the new West Midlands base would strengthen trading opportunities between the region and Belgium.
Claire said: “Because the UK market isn 't limited to London and AWEX (Wallonia Export & Investment Agency) wanted to be closer to decentralized innovative sectors the agency opened two offices in the UK: one in London covering the South, and one here in Birmingham.
“Having an office in Birmingham helps us stay relevant and improve our visibility with the actors based in the Midlands and beyond, further North (this encompasses Scotland as well).
“To date, in relation to our role in facilitating trade between Belgium-Wallonia and the UK, each year new success stories show that the region is very active and eager to collaborate with Wallonia. For example, we sourced the distributor for the introduction of the Belgian electric street cleaning vehicle which can be seen on the streets of Birmingham.
“It is manufactured by a Belgian company called 'Glutton '. We also supported the Belgian company called Ecosteryl who manufacture a machine for recycling clinical waste, in their prospection in the UK. This has resulted in three machines being imported here.
“We are also taking part in several trade shows at the Birmingham NEC, and for example last year, the trade stand at “Packaging Innovations ”, resulted in two companies finding multiple clients in the UK in this particularly demanding sector.
“In terms of challenges, a lot of fieldwork and networking is necessary sometimes to identify the key contacts to reach out to. Also, there are some cultural differences which needs to be addressed in terms of communicating with British people. ”
Keith Stokes-Smith (pictured), former Consul for Lithuania and founding president of the Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, added: “The Birmingham Consular Association is open to any overseas nation who have formal representation in the Midlands to join.
“We are always pleased to be able to do what we can for our members. Some 20 'Consular ' Offices are based in or around Birmingham with three, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, having a number of full-time staff.
“The association is always keen to engage/partner and collaborate with organisations who promote trade, as this is one of a number of key focus areas the local diplomatic Corps are responsible for. ”
Formed in 1882, the Birmingham Consular Association was one of the first to form its own representative Association with members covering the Midlands and often beyond.