Despite the existing regime of sanctions, Belgium and Russia could expand their trade ties to many areas, such as healthcare, food and agriculture, Gerard Seghers, the economic and commercial counselor of the Belgian Embassy to Russia, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2019) Despite the existing regime of sanctions, Belgium and Russia could expand their trade ties to many areas, such as healthcare, food and agriculture, Gerard Seghers, the economic and commercial counselor of the Belgian Embassy to Russia, told Sputnik.
"Belgium and Russia have good relations and are trying to improve those relations. We understand that obviously the sanctions in the future are going to be around. It is a fact of life, you have to live with that. With that being said, in the aerospace industry, we still think there are ways to cooperate. I know that Russia has been very ambitious in the last few years in terms of developing its civil aviation industry," Seghers said at the MAKS-2019 International Aviation and Space Salon, held in Russia.
Even though Russia remains a relatively small market for the Belgian business, the bilateral trade has started to show signs of growth since the slump in 2014 and has neared pre-crisis levels, according to the diplomat.
"What we have noticed in the last few years is the return to the level of trade between Russia and Belgium that is closer to what it was before 2014, when the sanctions were introduced," Seghers noted.
Among the areas where Brussels and Moscow could expand their cooperation, the diplomat has outlined the energy sector as Russian businesses are looking into gaining more independence, while Belgian companies could offer some solutions to achieve that.
"[There is] a lot of interest from Belgian companies dealing with health. Health is a big issue here in Russia, there is still some margin of improvement possible. And the health industry is being very attentive to Russia as a potential market. Pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of vaccines have been very active here in Russia in the last few years," Seghers added.
Brussels is also interested in expanding cooperation with Moscow on the machinery and equipment, particularly in the steel industry, and has already established a trade delegation which visited Russia last year and met with leading iron and steel companies, such as Severstal and Evraz, according to the diplomat.
Trade between Belgium and Russia increased by 25 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of 2018. According to the Russian Export Center, bilateral trade amounted to $11.6 billion in 2018. At the same time, Russia's export to Belgium increased by over 35 percent in 2018 and totaled $9.2 billion, according to the Russian Economy Development Ministry.
