Wallonia - AWEX
Wallonia is one of the three federal regions of Belgium, where most of the French and German speaking population of the country live today.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
The Wallonia Region has its own government. Its nine members report to a legislative body, the Wallonia Parliament, also known as Conseil Régional Wallon in the Belgian Constitution. It consists of 75 MPs, who are elected by direct universal suffrage.
These institutions chose Namur as the capital of Wallonia. The political and administrative heart of the region therefore beats in this city, which is situated between Sambre and Meuse.
Renowned for its coal and steel, Wallonia has experienced strong industrial growth since the Middle Ages. For many years, heavy industry was the driving force behind the region's economy. Indeed, Wallonia was the birthplace of the industrial revolution on continental Europe.
Today, the economic landscape has diversified considerably, and the main economic activities in the region are now centred around the industrial basins and the university centres.
Its main transport link is the East-West axis, which stretches from the Eastern cantons to Western Hainaut through Liège, Charleroi and Mons.
Liège, Charleroi and Mons constitute the industrial melting pots of the region's aeronautics (Liège space centre, Charleroi's Sonaca etc.) and life science sectors (Institute of molecular biology at the University of Brussels based in Charleroi, Interdisciplinary group of applied geneproteomics in Liège, EUROGENTEC, founded as a spin-off of the University of Liège etc.).
The East-West axis of the region also focuses on telecommunications (Minerve centre in Charleroi, Multitel in Mons, Hauts-Sarts business park in Liège, etc.) and on research and technology for new materials (Materia Nova centre of excellence in Mons).
The North-South axis crosses Wallonia from Wavre to Athus, passing through Namur. It is especially renowned for the exceptional collaboration that exists between local business and its universities (Catholic university of Louvain-la-Neuve, agricultural science faculties of the university of Gembloux, faculties of Notre-Dame de la Paix university at Namur).
Finally, the southern part of the Luxembourg province has undergone considerable economic restructuring, thanks in particular to the European Development Pole (EDP). The province is also the centre for the forest industry, and plays a leading role in the agribusiness industry. The area also boasts a number of important manufacturing companies such as Spanolux (stratified flooring) and Villeroy & Boch (ceramics).
INDUSTRIAL POTENTIAL
A rich intellectual heritage
When it comes to asserting itself on the global market for industrial skills and innovation, Wallonia has long relied on the wealth of its intellectual heritage. Drawing on several centuries of education, the region now provides 130 higher level institutions and 9 university centres.
The region has a worldwide reputation for its capacity to innovate and for the quality of its research, often rewarded by scientific Nobel Prizes (Jules Bordet, Albert Claude and Christian de Duve). Strengthened by a rich fabric of diverse industries, which comprises 65,000 SMEs in numerous traditional and technology-based sectors with a strong international focus, Wallonia is very favourably positioned at the very heart of the larger European market for industries and services.
University-business links - a fruitful cooperation
The wealth of expertise available within Wallonia's universities offers companies located within the region exceptional potential in terms of high-quality research and development. Liège and Namur are particularly specialised in telecoms, IT and software development, as well as in new composite materials and aeronautics. The Liège Space Centre, which started out on the Sart-Tilman university campus (Liège university) is actively involved in the European space project Ariane, and is a partner of NASA.
AMOS - located within the Sart Tilman science park - has developed globally-recognised expertise in optical instruments, where it equips the largest international astronomical observatories, and in on-board spatial instruments.
Centres of excellence right across Wallonia
- Namur and its expertise in the IT and telecom sector
- Gembloux and its agronomic and cutting-edge agribusiness technologies
- Liège and its space centre
- Charleroi, specialising in aeronautics, graphic arts and life sciences
- Mons, leading the field of information technologies and new materials
- Seneffe and the Feluy triangle for its expertise in petrochemistry
- Louvain-La-Neuve and its advances in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors
- Arlon and Bastogne, environmental areas of excellence.
MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES
The Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX) is the Wallonia Region of Belgium's government agency in charge of foreign trade promotion and foreign investment attraction.
The agency has a worldwide network of 105 Economic and Trade Attachés.
AWEX has been certified ISO 9001 since April 2002.
As a foreign trade agency, AWEX carries out a mission of promotion and information for the benefit of both Wallonia and the foreign business community.
Upon request, AWEX assists buyers, decision-makers, importers and foreign prospects by:
- Providing economic data on Wallonia and its export potential
- Disseminating information on products and services from companies located in Wallonia
- Identifying companies in Wallonia for international partnerships
- Distributing lists of exporters from Wallonia
As an export partner for Wallonia-based companies, Awex offers a wide range of export-oriented services and activities:
- General and commercial information on foreign markets
- Market studies tailored to specific areas upon request
- Organization and planning of marketing activities (international trade shows, economic missions, sector-based contact days.)
- Establishing contacts with international organizations
- Promoting Wallonia's export potential abroad
- Financial support and export financing
- Training in international careers
As a foreign investment agency, AWEX - via its Office for Foreign Investors (OFI) - has an overall responsibility for the attraction of foreign investment in Wallonia.
This includes seeking out and providing information to potential foreign investors. The Agency also offers a pro-active follow-up service to investors already established in Wallonia. In addition, it is in charge of identifying new foreign investors for the acquisition of industrial sites under
restructuring process.
LINKS TO MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES
www.wallonie.be
Official website of Walloon Region
www.investinwallonia.be
for foreign Investors
www.directory.wallonia-export.be
Walloon exporting companies
www.bep.be
Bureau Namur
www.crealys.be
Science
www.spow.be
Walloon federation of enterprises
www.uwe.be
Facultés universitaires luxembourgeoises
http://www.ful.ac.be
Université de Liége Département des Sciences et gestron de l´Environment
http://www.fpms.ac.be
Faculté polytechnique de Mons
http://www.fsagx.ac.be
Faculté universitaire des Sciences agronomiques de Gembloux
http://www.hec.be
Hautes études commerciales de Liège
http://www.fusl.ac.be
Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis
http://www.ucl.ac.be
Université catholique de Louvain
http://www.ulb.ac.be
Université libre de Bruxelles
http://www.ulg.ac.be
Université de Liège
http://www.umh.ac.be
Université de Mons-Hainaut
http://www.fucam.ac.be
Facultés universitaires catholiques de Mons
http://www.fundp.ac.be
Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix de Namur