On Friday, 20 October 2017, Mr. Qaisar HIJAZIN, General Secretary at the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, was delighted to lead a working-group on “doing business with GCC countries” on the occasion of the 4th encounter of the Import-Export Club, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Walloon Brabant.

In this respect, the participants were delighted to get to know more on the services made available to them by the ABLCC to assist them in planning, developing, and managing their business in Arab countries and, in this case, in the GCC.

Participants, were also keen to learn more on the economic context of the GCC countries.

To bring this interesting meeting to a close, participants discovered the newly renovated premises of Schoeps and its packaging line.

لمحة عن الاقتصاد العالمي

توقع صندوق النقد الدولي في شهر تموز/يوليو ان يتعزز الاقتصاد العالمي وأن تبلغ نسبة نموه 3.5٪ عام 2017 و3.6٪ عام 2018، غير أنه سيتباطأ في ذات الوقت في الولايات المتحدة حيث تراجعت التوقعات لعامي 2017 و2018 من 2.3٪ و2.5٪ على التوالي إلى 2.1٪ خلال السنتين المعنيتين. أما فيما يتعلق بالصين، فقد تم تعديل التوقعات قليلا إلى 6.7٪ (أي بزيادة 0.1) هذا العام و6.4٪ (بزيادة 0.2) عام 2018 بفضل تحقيق مستوى نشاط اقتصادي أقوى من المتوقع في الربع الأول من العام ونتيجة الإجراءات والإصلاحات اقتصادية.

On 17-18 May 2017, the ABLCC participated in the “2^nd Annual Iraqi – European Business & Investment Forum” organized by the Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce & Development in Athens.

This “2nd Annual Iraqi-European Forum” was under the auspices of the President of Iraq, the Ministries of Economy and Development and of Foreign Affairs of Greece, the Union of Arab Chambers and the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce, with the contribution and support of Baghdad Chamber of Commerce along with the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, Al-Bilad Bank of Iraq and the Arab-European Joint Chambers as supporting organizations.

The three sessions started with “Iraq’s Investment Opportunities”, which were presented by highlevel Iraqi speakers, followed by “Iraq’s Oil, Gas and Sustainable Energy Sectors” and the third session on “Potential for Infrastructure Projects in Iraq”, which was moderated by Mr. Qaisar Hijazin, Secretary General of the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce.

The last two sessions were presented by high-level Iraqi, Greek and European speakers, outlining the potential of these sectors in light of the fact that Iraq is heading towards a new era of security, stability and reconstruction.

Rapidly growing economies, strategic location, new diversification plans, economic and political stability, primary destination for investors and entrepreneurs seeking to establish operations in the MENA Region… These are some of the many assets that make the GCC one of the best Economic and Trade Partners.

Given the multiple assets of GCC countries, the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce has decided to dedicate to the GCC market its traditional Economic Forum, organized for the 11th consecutive year on 10 May 2017 in BNP Paribas Fortis sumptuous premises.

To that purpose, the ABLCC invited an interesting panel of local and international experts to share insights, knowledge, and know-how with a view to give the audience all necessary tools to fully benefit from the advantages and opportunities offered by the GCC!

After a welcome note by Mr. Peter Pollaert, Head Cash Management and Global Trade Solutions at BNP Paribas Fortis, and Mr. Qaisar Hijazin, Secretary General of the ABLCC, Mr. Peter Young, Deputy Head of Unit, South Mediterranean and Middle East, DG Trade at the European Commission, Started the panel “Aspect of protocol and business practices in the GCC” inviting us to grasp the reality behind this year’s theme. Mr. Young gave the audience an overview of the strong trade relationship between the EU and the GCC, highlighting the fact that “the EU is GCC's first trading partner, accounting for 16.6% of GCC total trade”. The GCC is the fourth export market of the EU with 5.7% of its exports going to the GCC.

Mr. Fahad Al-Jaimaz, Counsellor at the Embassy of Kuwait, then took the floor to present the Biggest projects under the new development plan 2015-2020. “The State of Kuwait is currently in the midst of its second mega economic development plan, which includes investments of over USD 103 billion in projects related to oil, gas, electricity, water, housing, health, education, transport, communications, tourism, and the environment”.

HEM Mohamed Issa Abushahab, Ambassador of the UAE, in turn, presented business opportunities in the UAE for Belgian and Luxembourg companies, pointing up to the fact that the EU was UAE's top trading partner in 2015 with a total trade value of USD 67 billion. “Strengthening trade relations, expanding Investments, and improving climate for doing business are UAE's trade objectives in a nutshell". He then made the audience more familiar with the Dubai 2020 event.

After a short film focusing on Bahrain and its blooming market, Mr. Nabil Jijakli, Deputy CEO at Credendo Group, gave the participants an International economic outlook and reviewed what would be the major risks for the future.

After these interesting presentations, the participants had the chance to take part to an interactive double interview “success stories and history of doing business in the GCC / Belgium / Luxembourg” moderated by Mr. Fouad Trad, CEO at Byblos Bank Europe. Mr. Trad skillfully guided through this interview Mr. Fadel Al Faraj, Managing Director at Kuwait Petroleum, and Mr. Ghassan Ejjeh, Senior Vice President at Besix. Both of them shared their success stories along with their perspective on doing business with Europe and the Arab world respectively.

Their well-founded observations along with their sound advice have been highly appreciated by the attendees.

As usual, this Major event brought together decision makers, government officials, Arab Ambassadors accredited to Brussels, Arab diplomats, the ABLCC board members, Belgian Foreign Trade Agencies, business executives, investors, and professional organizations from Belgium, Luxembourg, the EU, and Arab countries and was once again a suitable place to meet and exchange on current issues without any taboos.

To complete such an interesting afternoon, the participants had the opportunity to establish contacts during a networking cocktail, which was an ideal opportunity to meet and exchange views with the various experts in a relaxed atmosphere.

On 28 March 2017, the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Group S and Symbio, had the pleasure to invite Representatives of Arab Embassies in Belgium to a seminar on Social Security and health insurance at LE CHATELAIN BOUTIQUE HOTEL.

The event, with no less than 38 registered participants, proved very successful  and served as a first step to help attendees better understand the Belgian Social Security System thanks to leading experts in their field!

This event proved a success as the number of registrations outreached the initial target number of participants!We were even pleased to welcome guests from the State of Kuwait, who came especially to take part to this event!

After the Seminar, the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Group S, and Symbio, cordially invited the attendees to share a meal, which was an ideal opportunity to meet and exchange views with the various experts in a relaxed atmosphere.