On 19 November the Smart City Expo Barcelona was celebrated: Seminar “Brussels, key city for Smart City opportunities”

Last 19 November the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg participated in the seminar organized by Brussels Invest Export in the event Smart City Expo in Barcelona. During the seminar, the opportunities offered by the Brussels Capital region were presented to Spanish businesses within the framework of the project Smart City, that the Belgian city intends to develop shortly.

Ariane Leonard, Commercial Counselor of the Brussels Region in Spain opened the seminar to inform participants on the advantages Brussels offers for the establishment of foreign companies and investment. Carole Van der Borght, head manager of Smart Cities in the region of Brussels, presented in detail the action plans of development of Brussels within the framework of the Smart City project, promoted by the “Centre d’Informatique” for the Brussels Region the next few years.

David Simon, associate director for Bell Pottinger, continued the seminar by offering the attendees a global vision regarding the opportunities offered by the European institutions in Brussels and the access to credit lines. Subsequently, Bert Dehandschutter, Racine Avocats lawyer, explained the legal aspects of representation in Brussels. Finally, Stefaan Lenaerts, representative of Brussels Invest Export and María Catalán, Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber, presented respectively the Welcome Package, a free service establishment in Brussels for three months for foreign companies, and complementary services offered to Spanish companies for their activities in the Belgian capital.

The seminar counted on the participation of numerous local companies, as well as representatives of Spanish and Belgian public entities.