Wallonia is the Southern, French-speaking region of Belgium. The Wallonia region has borders with Germany, France, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, and enjoys a unique strategic position in Western Europe. Trade has always been a key element of our region’s economy, and Wallonia aims to further develop business ties with Indonesia as well.
Growing trade figures between the two regions
The volume of trade between Indonesia and the Wallonia Region of Belgium totalled 69 million EUR in 2016.
Exports from Wallonia to Indonesia amounted to 59 million EUR in 2016. The majority of these exports was in the agro-food sector (51,69%), followed by the pharmaceutical sector (19,43%) and the machinery sector (10,23%).
In the other direction, the amount of exports from Indonesia to Wallonia stood at 10 million EUR in 2016. Wallonia primarily imported agro-food items from Indonesia (60,06% of total imports), as well as textile items (9,62%), road vehicles (8,08%), and chemical products (7,70%).
Close ties between the Region of Wallonia and the Province of West-Java
Since 2014, Wallonia has developed close ties with West-Java in particular. This has resulted in the signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2017. In doing so, the two regional partners have identified a number of sectors in which they aim to develop partnership projects. These sectors include science and technology, agriculture and breeding techniques, trade and investment, tourism, culture, and human resources. Business delegations from West-Java visited Wallonia in October 2017 and again in November 2018.
Within this framework, the cities of Bandung (capital of West-Java) and Namur (capital of Wallonia) also enjoy a twin-city type partnership.
Likewise, a large business delegation from Belgium, led by HRH Princess Astrid, also visited Indonesia in March 2016.
Interesting perspectives in a growing number of sectors
Many companies from Wallonia have specialized in a large number of niche technologies. Some of these are in line with the requirements of important sectors for Indonesia, such as healthcare, the chemical industry, biotechnologies, waste management, water management, renewable energy, and agro-food.
To this date, a total of eight companies from Wallonia have invested in a form of physical presence on the Indonesian market.
The Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) office in Jakarta is at your disposal for any information or query you might have regarding Wallonia and/or Belgium.