Marshal Artur Kosicki meets representative of PRC’s Ministry of Commerce Cooperation in the field of investment and commerce, development of the New Silk Road initiative, internships for students in Chinese institutions and corporations – these were the key topics of the meeting attended by Artur Kosicki, Marshal of the Podlaskie Voivodeship, and Peng Huang, Director at the China International Investment Promotion Agency, Ministry of Commerce, PRC, which took place on Wednesday 11 August at the Podlaskie Voivodeship Marshal’s Office.
Director Peng Huang was on a working visit to Podlaskie Voivodeship on August 10-11, invited by the Investors Assistance and Business Promotion Office of Podlaskie Voivodeship Marshal’s Office. The China International Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce has three offices in Europe – in the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary. Director Huang represents the Hague branch of the Agency. He came to the Podlaskie to assess the possibilities of investment and trade cooperation. The visit is a unique opportunity to present the economic and investment potential of the region, to show the production capacity of Podlaskie enterprises and the goods and services they produce.
The first day of the Chinese guest’s visit to Podlaskie was marked by meetings with representatives of Białystok’s universities: University of Bialystok and the Bialystok University of Technology which presented the research and development capabilities of the regional universities. A visit to the Białystok Science and Technology Park and the headquarters of TenderHut Group provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the potential of the Podlaskie’s IT sector.
An important point during the second day of the visit was a conversation between Peng Huang and Artur Kosicki, Marshal of Podlaskie Voivodeship, which enabled the exchange of information concerning the cooperation of Podlaskie companies and universities with their Chinese counterparts, and the presentation of development opportunities for the TFL industry in the region.
Marshal Kosicki emphasised that the economic development of the Voivodeship and its effective promotion at home and abroad is the priority objective of the Voivodeship’s Board.
– Podlaskie is a region with unique assets. It is important that we are able to make good use of them by attracting business partners from all around the world. Since the beginning of its term, the Voivodeship’s Board has been actively working to ensure that entrepreneurs around the world get to know Podlaskie better. I am convinced that today’s meeting is the first of many, which will soon result in greater recognition of the region on the Chinese market and will contribute to the international expansion of Podlaskie enterprises – he said.
Director Huang, describing his stay in the Podlaskie region, said:
– I am pleased with the visit and I am convinced that our cooperation will continue. Our Agency receives many enquiries from Chinese companies interested in the rapidly growing Polish market. Podlaskie can be a good place for business cooperation. The region’s advantage is that it is very well connected with the capital city of Poland, as I personally found out when travelling from Warsaw to Białystok. Moreover, Podlaskie has a chance to play an important role on the Railway Silk Road.
On the second day of the vistit Peng Huang visited the Kontrast Logistics Centre and Intermodal Container Terminal in Łapy and the Pronar plant in Siemiatycze – the largest producer of recycling machines in Poland. The last place to visit was the Mlekovita Dairy Cooperative in Wysokie Mazowieckie, whose products are very popular on the Chinese market.
Dr Mariusz Dąbrowski, Director of the Office of Investor Assistance and Economic Promotion of the Podlaskie Marshal’s Office, on whose initiative the meeting with Peng Huang took place, said:
– We talked about human resources, without which it is difficult to develop any business. We therefore visited the Bialystok University of Technology and the University of Bialystok. In addition, we held talks on the Belt and Road initiative, the so-called New Silk Road. In my opinion, the visit may prove important for the region, as the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency actively supports business projects between China and Europe. I have agreed with Director Huang that our offices will start permanent cooperation on economic promotion.
