“Brussels is seeking to work closely with the Saudi Ports Authority and has invited the ports’ chief to visit Belgium with a view to exchanging information about the operation and management of ports in the respective countries,” said Belgian Ambassador Michel Lastschenko, here Sunday.

Lastschenko said that he would call on Abdulaziz bin Mohammed N. Al-Tuwaijri, the newly appointed chief of the Saudi Ports Authority. The diplomat, in his interview, gave an overview of progressively growing Saudi-Belgian relations with special reference to the Belgian presidency of the EU and the meeting of the local EU ambassadors that will be held on Sept. 25 at the office of the European Commission delegation in Riyadh.

Referring to the cooperation in the fields of operation and management of ports, he said that Belgium had rich experience in the fields of operation and dredging. The port of Antwerp in Belgium is the second largest port in Europe, whose docks are connected to the hinterland by rail, waterway and road, he added. It also ranks as one of the top 12 ports of the world, and handled 157,800,000 metric tons of trade and offered liner services to 800 different maritime destinations in 2009, he said.

The move to share experience in the port sector is significant keeping in view the fact that the Kingdom is also working to develop its ports to reach the highest level of efficiency in terms of operation and management. Plans are also underway to set up a new port on the Red Sea to support Jeddah Islamic Port, while the work is currently in progress for setting up the ninth port in Ras Azzour mining area.

On commercial front, Lastschenko called on the Saudi and Belgian businessmen to work closely to promote trade and investment. To this end, he singled out the diamond sector, where there is a great potential of cooperation. He pointed out that 80 percent of rough diamonds and 60 percent of polished specimens pass through Antwerp. The city of Antwerp, he said, has been regarded as the diamond capital since the 16th century.

Today, more than 30,000 people are employed in the diamond industry in Belgium, added the diplomat. He said that the Belgians had evinced keen interest in working with the Gulf states in the diamond sector. In fact, diamond jewelry sales in Saudi Arabia have soared from $450 million five years ago to $1.2 billion in 2009, making the country the largest market in the Gulf, according to a report published recently.

He said that Riyadh and Brussels had forged closer ties in different sectors. To this end, Ambassador Lastschenko noted that several Belgian companies will participate in Saudi Build 2010 Exhibition, which is dubbed the Middle East’s largest construction exhibition in the region.

The exhibition will run from Oct. 18 to 21 in Riyadh.