On 15 May, Minister-President of Flanders Mr Greet Bourgeois and Governor of Aichi prefecture Mr Hideaki Ohmura signed a friendship memorandum, confirming mutually beneficial business relations between Flanders and Aichi, the first of three that took place on this visit by Governor Ohmura.
Governor Ohmura and Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois
Flanders and Aichi have been cooperating for many years in the automotive industry. The ports of Zeebrugge and Antwerp in particular work together closely in partnership with Nagoya, Japan’s largest port. Japanese car brands Toyota, Honda and Mazda have major logistics operations based in Flanders, strengthening the ties between the two regions.
Last year in October 2016, Minister-President Bourgeois visited Japan to celebrate the shipping of the 10 millionth Japanese car to Flanders. During this visit that the idea emerged to create a Memorandum of Understanding on Friendship and Mutual Cooperation between Flanders and Aichi. During a recent visit of Governor Ohmura to Flanders on May 15th, the document was signed by both parties.
Minister-President Bourgeois stated: “We are very proud of our economic relationship with Aichi. Flanders is an important logistics partner for the Japanese automotive industry. It is a pleasure to host Governor Ohmura on his visits, and are we are eager to deepen our friendship with Aichi.”
Similar memoranda were signed between Governor Ohmura and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Government Mr Rudi Vervoot and Minister-President of the Walloon Government of the Kingdom of Belgium Mr Paul Magnette.
Since 2014, there have been frequent contacts between Brussels-Capital Region and Aichi Prefecture, more specifically with the City of Nagoya. That year, the Quartier Louise district of Brussels twinned with the commercial district of Sakae-Machi. Cécile Jodogne, the State Secretary for Foreign Trade, travelled to Nagoya in 2015 and 2016 and returned there in June this year. There she will attended a concert of the Brussels Philharmonic, whose Japanese tour is co-funded by Brussels International.
Minister-President Rudi Vervoort, meanwhile, visited the city in October 2016, representing the region during the state visit to Japan by the King and Queen of Belgium. He presented a Smurf costume with a replica of Belgium’s most famous ambassador, the Manneken-Pis, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Mathilde, and the two Brussels icons now proudly represent Brussels in Aichi Prefecture.
During their visit to Brussels, the official Japanese delegation visited local companies with ties to Japan. They included the leather manufacturer Delvaux, SoftKinetic which specialises in 3D technology and movement recognition (which was acquired by Sony in 2015) and the Brussels Beer Project, a Brussels brewery cooperative, which opened a bar in Tokyo on 10 May.
The delegation also visited the European Commission, an essential element of any visit to the capital of Europe.
