Lunch-Conference at VOKA East Flanders

On February 7, Ambassador Hajime Hayashi gave a lecture about Japan -Belgium economic relations on the occasion of the lunch-conference organised by VOKA (Flemish Chamber of Commerce and Industry) East Flanders in Ghent. He praised the excellent twin city relationship between Kanazawa and Ghent and geographical advantages of the Flemish Region which attract a number of Japanese companies. He also explained his expectation that the bilateral economic relations would progress further with the help of the new Tax Convention between Japan and Belgium signed in October, 2016 and the upcoming Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), whose negotiations were finalised in December, 2017. With attendees, he discussed Japanese companies’ investments to Belgium, common challenges of the two countries as well as the historical exchanges between Japan and Belgium.