Flanders signs new working programmes with Romania and Lithuania

  • October 26, 2012
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As one of the main instruments of Flanders’ bilateral foreign policy, Mixed Commissions are held several times a year between Flanders and its bilateral partners. During such a commission, delegates of both countries and/or regions agree upon a working programme, which implements the cooperation agreement between both partners. Recently, Flanders held Mixed Commissions with Romania and Lithuania.

Mixed Commission Flanders-Romania

On 25 October, Mr Koen Jongbloet, Head of the Policy Division of the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Radu Zaharia, general director of the Directorate Commerce and International Relations, signed the seventh Flemish-Romanian working programme. Flanders has several partnerships with Romania on entrepreneurship, foreign trade, agriculture, education, culture and mobility, among others.

Mixed Commission Flanders-Lithuania

On 6 and 7 November, a Flemish delegation was invited to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius for the Mixed Commission Flanders-Lithuania. The Commission further marked the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Government of Flanders and the Lithuanian Government, dated back to 7 March 1996.

During the Mixed Commission, both parties agreed to a new working programme for the 2013-2015 period. The document was formally signed by Mr Tomas Gulbinas, Director of European Affairs Department at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Koen Verlaeckt, head of the Flemish delegation and Secretary-General of the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs.

The cooperation programme focuses on a large number of competences of the Government of Flanders, ranging from welfare and culture over mobility and public works to foreign trade, entrepreneurship and education. It includes new impulses on a variety of cooperation areas.