Belgium actively supports Ukraine in the war against russia, providing both military and humanitarian aid. The Belgian government is active in the international arena, supporting sanctions against russia and calling for accountability for war crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine. The country also supports humanitarian initiatives to help civilians in Ukraine. The Belgian government and charitable organisations provide medical supplies, food, temporary housing and financial assistance to refugees.
In May 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo signed a bilateral agreement on security guarantees in Brussels. The document also envisages defence industrial cooperation, support for the Ukrainian peace formula, tougher sanctions against russia, compensation for damages, justice for the aggressor, the use of frozen russian assets and economic recovery. At the same time, Ukraine and the Kingdom of Belgium will deepen their cooperation in the field of intelligence, cybersecurity and countering disinformation. Belgium also expresses support for Ukraine’s future membership in the EU and NATO.
Brussels has been supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and equipment since the first days of the full-scale invasion of russia. 25 aid packages have already been provided, which include light weapons, air defence systems, armoured vehicles, artillery systems and other military equipment. As of 30 April 2024, Belgium has provided assistance to Ukraine totalling €1,072 million, of which €898 million is military support. In 2024, the country will allocate at least €977 million in military support to Ukraine.
The Kingdom of Belgium will provide €150 million for reconstruction projects in Ukraine. The funds will be used, in particular, to restore energy and social infrastructure in the most affected regions of Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full-scale russian aggression in 2022, Belgium has been supporting combat and humanitarian demining activities in Ukraine. Belgium has also joined the UDCG mine action coalition and will provide Ukraine with one mine action boat. At the same time, the Kingdom of Belgium, together with the Netherlands, will provide Ukraine with three mine detection ships. Brussels will organise basic training for personnel at the Naval Academy.
It is also planned to purchase armoured ambulances, which is a joint initiative of the Benelux countries. They will be upgraded and then transferred to Ukraine. Belgium has contributed €200 million to the Czech-led initiative to purchase ammunition for the Ukrainian Security and Defence Forces.
The Kingdom of Belgium will also continue its efforts to train Ukrainian personnel of the Security and Defence Forces: as of April 2024, the Belgian Armed Forces have already trained about 2,200 servicemen.
Belgium is one of thirteen countries participating in the coalition to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. The Belgian government has confirmed that it will provide Ukraine with a total of 30 F-16 combat aircraft by 2028 as part of the defence assistance approved by the security cooperation agreement. The country wants to provide Ukraine with a certain number of F-16s by the end of 2024. Belgium sent two two-seat F-16 fighter jets to Denmark, as well as about 50 personnel who participated in the training of Ukrainian pilots between March and September. It has also allocated €100 million to Ukraine for the maintenance and support of F-16s as part of an international coalition.
The Kingdom of Belgium will provide Ukraine with missiles for air defence systems from its own stockpile and will allocate €200 million to participate in the German initiative to supply air defence systems.
The development of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation also remains an important priority for the two countries. An analysis of Dnipropetrovsk region’s export and import operations with Belgium demonstrates a high level of partnership, as the country is an important trading partner of the region.
Belgian companies are most interested in mineral fuels, ferrous metal products, electrical machinery, seeds and oilseeds, etc. The volume of goods exports from Dnipropetrovsk region was $20.9 million and decreased by 13% compared to 2022.
36 companies in the Dnipro region exported their products to the Belgian market, including mining and metals, processing and agricultural companies.
The TOP-5 exporters by volume of exported products are the following:
Imports of goods from Belgium to Dnipro region increased by 32% compared to 2022 and totalled $43.6 million.
135 importing companies of the region purchased the most following Belgian goods: medicines, plastics, mineral fuels, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, animal feed, etc.
The TOP-5 importers by volume of imported products are the following:
Imports were mainly carried out by pharmaceutical, trade, food and machine-building companies.
Source: information for the article was taken from open online sources
