On October 19, 2015 the business forum entitled “Cooperation opportunities between Armenia and Belgium” took place in Brussels within the framework of Armenian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) auto rally across Europe. It was organized jointly by the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, the Embassy of Armenia to Belgium and the Trade Representative, together with the Wallonia Export and Investment Agency (AWEX), Agoria Business Club, Flanders Investment and Trade Agency, as well as AGBU Europe in close cooperation with Enterprise Incubator Foundation.

Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Belgium, Head of Mission of Armenia to the EU Tatoul Markarian addressed the Forum with opening remarks. In his speech he welcomed the initiative of Armenian ICT European Expedition and stressed, in particular, that “ICT is rapidly becoming a lead sector in Armenia’s economy. Since the independence it has always been our ambition to create a modern knowledge based economy. It should be mentioned that research and development, as well as highly qualified workforce have traditionally been the basis of Armenia’s economic prosperity and not without a reason Armenia was called “Silicon Valley” of the Soviet Union.”

Mme. Chantal De Bleu, the Deputy General Manager of AWEX and Mr. Vahan Chakarian, Founder of Technology and Science Dynamics and New Education Technology Fund delivered keynote speeches.

The extensive agenda of the business forum, which included networking and B2B meetings, gave an opportunity to both Armenian and Belgian agencies to highlight the existing opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in IT sector. The advantages for doing business in Armenia were showcased by the representatives of Enterprise Incubator Fund and Technology and Science Dynamics. The Belgian perspective was presented by Agoria Business Club and Agence du Numérique of Wallonia.

The representative of the EU Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) provided participants with comprehensive information on the Enterprise Europe Network and COSME program, which give Armenian companies an opportunity to get financial and consultative assistance from EU for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

During the business forum the Armenian and Belgian company representatives also discussed investment opportunities and explored the prospective of further enhancement of cooperation in the IT sector.