Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd, India's largest private port developer and part of the Adani Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge, to act as a strategic entry port for the lucrative European market. It will now collaborate with the Belgian port to explore joint business opportunities between the two ports along with other forms of trade, shipping, railway infrastructure across India and Europe. The MoU over a period of time will help in an enhanced movement of traffic to and from APSEZ into Europe and beyond. It will also enable sharing of global best practices including technical know-how between two of the leading port developers globally.

During the visit of an important Belgian business delegation led by HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Representative of His Majesty the King to India, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two companies in Mumbai, to this effect, by Mr Karan Adani, Executive Director of Adani Ports& SEZ Ltd, and Mr Joachim Coens, President-CEO of the Port of Zeeburgge. The MoU was signed in the presence of HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Representative of His Majesty the King, HE Mr Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade & European Affairs of Belgium and HE Mr Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Economy, Foreign Policy, Agriculture & Rural Policy.

The Belgian business delegation, consisting of more than 300 delegates from different industries and universities, is visiting New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai this week.

Speaking on the development Mr. Karan Adani, Executive Director, APSEZ said India is emerging as a fast growing economy of the world and poised for better growth. As the leading port developer of India and operator of the largest port asset in India, APSEZ is poised to deliver significant value to all the stakeholders even as we continue to adopt global best practices. This MoU with the port Zeebruggeis an important milestone in that direction and we are keen to jointly explore marketing endeavours and strategies to promote Indo-European trade relations across both the ports via leading shipping lines. Both the port entities have complementary strengths including ability to handle VLCCs. Besides they can handle amongst the largest container ships currently plying, that can help in attracting large container traffic. This MoU will help us address the European markets better and will be strategic in nature.

The ports will support mutual development in the sectors of ports and shipping and expand their presence internationally through commercial contacts, exchanging port experts and exploring possibilities of mutual exchange of information in the fields of economy, trading, shipping, environment, transhipment, RoRo, railway and other possible industry linked fields.

Mr Joachim Coens, President-CEO from the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium said: with six far east services calling Zeebrugge, our port is a major player in the Europe-Asia trade. As trade between India and Europe continuously grows in both directions, we are happy to join hands with Adani Ports in order to endeavour routing cargo through our respective ports. Our strategic location in the centre of India's three largest EU trade partners, Germany, Belgium & the UK, certainly is an asset for Indian exporters. With our mutual ability to competitively handle the largest container vessels currently in the fleets, we hope that this collaboration will be positively received by the global shipping lines. This co-operation shows once again that the activities of modern ports reach much further than their breakwaters.