The Brussels-Capital Region, in cooperation with Palestine's Ramallah region, will host several Palestinian start-ups in the Belgian capital in the new future, Brussels State Secretary for Foreign Trade, Ans Persoons, announced in a press release on Thursday.
Within the framework of a partnership agreement signed between the Brussels region and the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate in April 2024, the region, alongside regional entrepreneurship agency hub.brussels, and Belgian development agency Enabel, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect with Palestinian Minister of Labour and Entrepreneurship Dr. Enas Dahadha Attari.
Brussels authorities will select Palestinian start-up companies to receive the region's 'My Welcome Package'. The package entails support measures for foreign workers who want to promote their company on the Belgian market.
"Brussels is a breeding ground for start-ups and with this initiative we specifically focus on promising Palestinian entrepreneurs. In these difficult times of war and division, they deserve all our support," Persoons told the press. If the call for applications proves successful, a new call for applications will be launched in the future.
The Brussels-Capital Region has deepened ties with Ramallah in recent years.
In 2022, hub.brussels opened an office in the city of Ramallah aimed at improving trade relations with Palestine. Although its aid and investment in the region has been disrupted by Israel's Gaza offensive, the two regions are continuing to look for new cooperation projects.
