Liege University has established links with several universities and institutions in the US State of North Carolina. A Working Group, led by Vice-Rector Bernard Rentier, has established close ties with Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Duke Universities with a view to setting up co-operation projects in the field of biotechnology. The Working Group has also established links with pharmaceutical and biotechnological company Glaxo Wellcome, which is based in the North Carolina Triangle Park and has a subsidiary in Belgium.

It is no surprise that the Liege University has established close ties with these well-respected universities and companies in the US. Biotechnology is one of the spearheads of economic life in Liege. Many biotech companies have settled in the Liege area, some being spin-offs of university laboratories, and the cross-fertilisation between industrial and academic research has been formed into an association: BioLiège. This association is a dynamic centre of biotech activities and is devoted to promoting biotechnology in Liege.

BioLiège is the spur behind the links with North Carolina and the organisation responsible for the co-operation projects with the universities. Bioliège not only stimulates contact with universities abroad, but also sets up interactive forums and debates on current issues in the field and facilitates contact and collaboration between scientists and industrial partners in all areas of biotechnology. In short, it acts as an efficient showcase for biotech development.

SPI+ welcomes the new Walloon Office for Foreign Investors in Japan 

SPI+ congratulates the Walloon Government on the opening of a new Office for Foreign Investors (OFI) in the Japanese capital Tokyo. The new office, officially inaugurated by Prime-Minister Robert Collignon, will serve Japanese companies that want to invest in Wallonia and its regions, including Liege. The office will be run by Laurent Swinnen and Kenzo Kato and will co-operate with the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI). In 1997, Direct Japanese Investment in Wallonia amounted to nearly BEF 3 billion (Euro 75 million).

The Japan office is a further step in the economic relationship between Japan and the Walloon regions. Over the past 10 years, several Japanese companies have set up subsidiaries in the Province of Liege and the current economic situation in Japan has already resulted in an increase in exports that is to be followed by relocation activities. SPI+ invites Japanese companies to establish close ties with Liege University in the field of biotechnology and aerospace. The excellent geographical location of Liege at the crossroads of Europe, makes it ideal for Japanese relocation and distribution activities, and SPI+ can provide all the necessary logistic and real estate support.

For further information, please contact Mr Bauduin Blairon, Manager International and Organisation, or Mr Jean-Paul Dispas, International Relations, SPI+, Tel: +32/4/230.11.11 and Fax: +32/4/230.11.30

New missions by the Liege Association of Exporters

In 1999, the Liege Association of Exporters (CLE) will organise 13 new trade missions. The Association, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year, has organised 117 missions to 5 continents for its 230 members and has distributed 1,500 prospect programmes and established 15,000 contacts. The Association, based in Liege, has an annual budget of BEF 20 million (Euro 500,000) and is run by an Administration Council, presided over by Marc Dausque, which determines its promotional activities.

For members, missions to Asia have been particularly satisfactory, with two companies recently reaching a BEF 120 million (Euro 3 million) turnover following missions to China and Taiwan. The Association co-operates closely with the Walloon Agency for Exports (AWEX) and its representatives in foreign countries. Financial support from the Walloon Government and, occasionally, from the European Funds (EFRD) also contributes to the success of its actions, while the Government of Liege also supports the Association through its network of relationships.

For further information, please contact Mr Michel Damman, Delegated Administrator of the Liege Association of Exporters, Tel: +32/4/220.43.17 and Fax: +32/4/220.47.77

The Association of Walloons in Sweden showing healthy growth

Liege has a special relationship with Sweden. Swedish companies such as Gefinex from the Fagerdala World Foams Group, Mölnlycke Health Care, Prosolvia and SCA have set up profitable subsidiaries in the Province of Liege. And over the past 400 years, many entrepreneurs from the Liege region and its surroundings have moved to Sweden. Back in 1938, immigrants from Liege and its neighbouring Walloon regions founded an association with a view to contributing to the economic and cultural development of the Walloons in Sweden and to supporting research in this field.

This association, ‘The Descendants of the Walloons of Sweden’, has approximately 1,100 members from all over Sweden and even outside the country. Its board is located in Stockholm and the number of members showing a healthy growth. Every year, the association organises several activities for its members, such as lectures, seminars, meetings, parties, excursions and journeys to cities in Belgium including Liege. The Association has also published several reports on its research findings and issues a newsletter for its members four times a year.

For further information, please contact the web site of society The Descendants of the Walloons in Sweden: http://www.vallon.se/english.htm