Belgium will soon have a health attache from the Federal Agency for Food Chain Security (FASFC) in China, Sudpresse newspapers reported last Thursday.
The federal government has approved the creation of a FASFC agent station near the Belgian embassy in Peking.
"By creating this post, we are pursuing a clear objective: speeding up the lifting of Chinese embargoes on our beef, pork and poultry exports," the federal minister of agriculture, Denis Ducarme (MR), explained to Sudpresse reporters. As a result of this embargo imposed nearly 20 years ago, Belgium has been unable to sell its beef and veal to the Chinese.
The FASFC attache's mission will be to keep sanitary and phytosanitary technical files with a view to enabling Belgian companies to export food products again.
It will also facilitate contact with competent authorities and promote the implementation of collaboration agreements.
The attache should start work next Spring after training. He or she will also be authorised to work in other countries like Vietnam and Taiwan.
The Brussels Times
