Biotechnology was identified as a sector in which Belgium has an extremely strong position on a global level. This is why a unique event was organized by FlandersBio and Flanders Vaccine in cooperation with the Embassy of Czech Republic in Brussels in order to create an opportunity for Belgian and V4 scientists and entrepreneurs to meet, interact and possibly start cooperation mainly in the areas of vaccines, immunology, immune-oncology and infectious diseases.

The first day of the conference was focused on the up-to-date thematic blocks like the current strategy of human and animal vaccine development or how to stimulate innovation in global vaccines. The second day was dedicated to B2B networking and short presentations of the present companies and institutions.

Overall, the event highlighted the possibilities for cooperation with the V4 countries. "The potential for cooperation between Belgium and the Visegrad Group Countries generally, and the Czech Republic particularly, in the area of ​​biotechnology, has never been so great. The combination of high levels of investment in research infrastructure by the EU, as well as a burgeoning start-up culture in the V4 would foster productive interactions with the mature innovative environment of Belgium," said Markus Dettenhofer, executive director of Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC in Brno, who was one of the key speakers at the conference.

The event was co-financed by the Embassy of Czech Republic in Brussels thanks to its project for support of the economic diplomacy as well as by the other V4 embassies. The ambassador of Czech republic in Brussels Jaroslav Kurfürst said about is: “Czech companies are focusing on Belgium for a longer period. Belgium is really at the forefront in research and development and I think that the Czech-Belgian cooperation in biotechnology has a great potential.”

The conference was attended by several important representatives of Czech companies and institutions that are among the key players in the biotechnological research. Among them Association of Czech Biotech Companies -  CzechBio or Veterinary Research Institute, but also companies from other V4 countries. This conference could be the first step for strengthening the cooperation between the Central Eastern European region and Belgium, namely with the Flemish region. The participants were pleased by the new contacts they gained and they are hoping to start working together soon on some future projects.