In a bid to strengthen collaboration with Indian businesses and local authorities, which includes the opening of a new course offered by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust’s APEC Port Training Centre, the Port of Antwerp will be organising its annual trade mission to India in February, 2016.
Marc Van Peel, Chairman of the Antwerp Port Authority will be paying a visit to Delhi and Mumbai and will be accompanied by Pieter De Crem, Secretary of State of Foreign Trade for Belgium.
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As well as an annual visit, Antwerp has its own representative in the port city of Mumbai, as part of a series of measures to raise its profile in India.
In 2012 the Port of Antwerp International, the International Consulting and Investment Subsidiary of Antwerp Port Authority, signed an alliance with Essar Ports Limited.
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Further development of past agreements with India including the JNPT APEC Port Training Centre, is one of the main points on the agenda of the current trade mission.
Trade between India and Antwerp has grown in recent years to an estimate of 5 million tonnes annually.
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Marc Van Peel said: “The success of the Port of Antwerp in India is the results of interaction with a large number of players, in particular the local ones.
“We therefore wish to thank the partners who have supported us from the very early days, for their devotion to Antwerp.
Van Peel concluded: “[The] Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) has played this role for us in a large number of Indian cities, from Chennai to Ludhiana.”