Bertrand Verkaeren appointed Honorary Consul of Armenia in Flanders, Belgium

BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Bertrand Verkaeren has been appointed Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Flanders, Belgium. 

On October 11, in Yerevan, Secretary General of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Davit Karapetyan handed over the certificate of the appointment to the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Flanders, Bertrand Verkaeren. Tigran Balayan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Belgium, as well as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the Republic of Armenia Eric de Muynck were present at the ceremony.

Bertrand Verkaeren, speaking to Armenpress Brussels correspondent Lilit Gasparyan, said his appointment is a big responsibility and pride. “I’ve known the Armenian community of Belgium for 12 years. My business partner, Tigran Kassabian, is an Armenian, we are managing a company together,” Verkaeren said, adding that before accepting the offer to become honorary consul he met with the Armenian ambassador and visited Armenia. “I visited Armenia for the first time last year, I saw the Armenian hospitality and a wonderful country. Then I met the Ambassador and his team, we immediately developed rapport with Ambassador Balayan and started discussing thousands of projects at the first meeting,” he added.

Verkaeren said he already has ideas and is using his connections and partners to realize them. He said he’s sure that Armenia can transform into a cultural and gastronomy tourism hotspot. 

As someone valuing teamwork, the honorary consul expressed certainty that together with the Armenian Ambassador in Belgium and the Belgian Ambassador in Armenia they will implement numerous interesting and meaningful projects in various sectors for the prosperity of Armenia and further development of Armenian-Belgian relations.