hub.brussels opens an office in Ramallah

Under the impulse of Pascal Smet, Brussels Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, hub.brussels officially inaugurated a new post in the Palestinian city of Ramallah on Wednesday. Its objective is to improve and intensify direct trade relations with the Occupied Palestinian Territory and strengthen development cooperation opportunities. The Brussels agency is also continuing its activities in Tel Aviv, through its new on-site Attaché.

 “As a European capital and the second most cosmopolitan city in the world, we pursue an active international policy aimed at building constructive relationships with as many regions as possible. It is in this context that today we are opening this Brussels representative office in Ramallah,” says Pascal Smet, Brussels Secretary of State for International Relations and Foreign Trade, currently on an exploratory mission to Palestine and Israel with Rachid Madrane, President of the Brussels Parliament.

This office is a first, as the territory has never before hosted a Belgian representative office. It will also serve Flemish and Walloon companies, in accordance with the current cooperation agreement between the Regions.

“The opening of a Brussels representation in Ramallah is symbolic in many ways, but my presence as President of the Parliament is first and foremost the translation of the democratic will of the people of Brussels to support the Palestinian population,” adds Rachid Madrane, President of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The Brussels office is located in the same building as Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency. Its opening was received very positively by the chambers of commerce and the local authorities.

“With this new office, hub.brussels wants to prove that the economy can be a lever for the well-being of people in Brussels, and beyond.”, concludes Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels

Ramallah, conducive to Brussels development cooperation

The city of Ramallah is an economic and financial centre and the Ramallah and al-Bireh region is considered a potential area for Brussels development cooperation.

The three regions now have premises for meeting businesses from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. An additional local employee will also be hired to further develop this collaboration in the region.

In 2020, Belgium ranked 8^th among European countries in terms of exports of goods to the Territory. The ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) sector has grown strongly in recent years, particularly in the area of software development. This is a very important sector for the Brussels Region and its service economy.

Tel Aviv, the cradle of start-ups

The Brussels representative office in Tel Aviv is continuing its activities. Israel is internationally recognised as the Start-Up Nation; it is the country with the highest rate of start-ups and patents in the world as a proportion of its population.

There is no support for businesses operating in the settlements. Human rights and development cooperation will be at the heart of this mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The strengthening of economic ties goes hand-in-hand with these aspects. Several political meetings are planned within this framework, as are activities on cooperation with NGOs and development cooperation.