International Affairs
On February 14th 2018, a round table organized in the framework of the 11th session of the Joint Economic Commission between the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) and the Russian Federation was hosted by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development in Moscow.
This coordination platform, composed of Russian, Luxembourgish and Belgian authorities in charge of economic and trade relations in their respective countries, focuses on the promotion of economic and trade relations and has proven to be a successful instrument when it comes to strengthening the cooperation between companies from Russia and Luxembourg, between institutions from the two countries, as well as offering a platform to constructively address potential issues.
This year’s joint commission, co-chaired by His Excellency Mr Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, His Excellency Mr Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and His Excellency Mr Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, marked the continuation of the friendly diplomatic relations and the overall cordial atmosphere between the BLEU and the Russian Federation. Both parties are willing to offer their full support to the BLEU and Russian companies in their endeavors on their respective markets, thereby contributing to restore and enhance confidence within the business community.
Energy, space, innovation, as well as industrial-, SME- and regional cooperation were at the center of this session’s discussions. For more details on the themes addressed during the joint commission, you can consult the communiqué published by the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy earlier today.
The Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce led a delegation of Luxembourg-based companies which had the opportunity to intervene on the various subjects during the commission as well as present their current and future projects in Russia, before the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce addressed the sizeable potential for interregional cooperation. As the guardian of the interests of its member companies, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce bespoke a variety of issues faced by Luxembourg-based companies when exercising their activities in the Russian Federation, and called for the authorities to create an ever more business friendly environment. The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce took the opportunity to strengthen its ties with its Russian counterpart, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
In order to promote exchanges between the two countries, Étienne Schneider and Dmitry Rogozin also discussed the possibility of restoring a direct passenger air link between Luxembourg and Moscow. A direct flight would not only meet the needs of many Luxembourgish companies active in Russia and vice versa, but would also have a positive impact on tourism in both directions.
The UEBL-Russia Joint Commission was concluded with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Luxembourg National Agency for Research and Innovation, Luxinnovation, and the Russian Innovation Center, the Skolkovo Foundation, with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the field of innovation and new technologies. The MoU solidified the already long-lasting relationship between the Skolkovo Foundation and Luxembourg. Amongst other previous meetings, a delegation of the Skolkovo Foundation visited the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in September last year in order to look into possible business cooperation, get an insight on its startup-ecosystem, and receive general information on the Luxembourgish Economy.
The joint economic commission ended on a positive note with new routes for further cooperation to be explored. The next session of the Joint Economic between the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union and the Russian Federation is scheduled to take place in 2020 in Luxembourg. In the meantime, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce will host a delegation from Tambov and a sectorial trade mission from Luxembourg will be organized to Russia within the year.
