London, 8 October 2021 (TDI): The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss met the Foreign Minister of Belgium, Sophie Wilmes. Sophie Wilmes is also the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Foreign Trade of Belgium.
The United Kingdom and Belgium historically share a very friendly relationship. The UK continues to maintain close economic and strategic ties with Belgium following Brexit. The British exports to Belgium in 2020 were more than 13 billion dollars.
In the same year, Belgium exported more than 5 billion dollars worth of goods to the United Kingdom, which is almost 8% of Belgium’s entire export. Both states are also members of NATO and collaborate closely on international issues.
The UK and Belgium are also closely cooperating on climate change. The upcoming COP26 conference in Scotland is very important for both countries. Both countries also cooperated closely on evacuations in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.
The British Foreign Secretary stressed the importance of these bilateral ties in the meeting. She remarked that there are more avenues to which cooperation can be extended. She remarked that the economic and trade relationships should be improved. The top diplomats from both countries also emphasized the security partnership between UK and Belgium. They agreed to enhance security coordination bilaterally and through NATO.
Both diplomats also agreed to uphold shared norms and values with their allies. These values include rule of law, women empowerment, human rights, and freedom of individuals. Both diplomats also agreed to expand cooperation on issues that are related to human security in Europe. A common position towards issues will benefit not only both states but also Europe at large.