Belgian business leaders come to Humber

Senior Belgian businesspeople are visiting the Humber this month to encourage regional firms to do business in the country.

Belgian ports and chamber of commerce representatives will speak at the ‘Doing business in Belgium’ seminar on October 10, at the World Trade Centre Hull & Humber.

Miel Vemorgen, director of sales and logistics at the Port of Zeebrugge; Michel Vanhoonacker, chairman of the Belgian Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, and Ben De Smit, economic and commercial counsellor with the Flanders Investment & Trade - Embassy of Belgium, will speak at the morning event.

They will be joined by Phil Hall, enterprise officer for Hull City Council, who will provide an overview of a proposed visit.

Peter Brown, CEO of Neill & Brown Global Logistics and a world trade centre director, said: “These are senior international business figures in one place at one time and they will be here to provide great contacts and information on Belgium as a gateway to Europe, and the business and logisitics opportunities the country offers.

“With the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ghent and Ostend, the region is a key European trading zone. Zeebrugge is one of the fastest growing ports in the range of ports between Le Havre and Hamburg, which together handle more than a billion tonnes of cargo a year.

“Flanders is a prime business region and strategically located in the centre of the most prosperous part of Europe with a wealth of businesses and industry, including automotive, food, logisitics, textiles, chemicals, renewable energy, tourism and culture.”

The seminar will also highlight businsess opportunities in the country ahead of a planned Hull City Council trade visit to Belgium in February, 2014.

The seminar runs from 10.30am-1pm at the World Trade Centre Hull & Humber and costs £15 + VAT.