OUR HISTORY
Mid 19th century first Belgian migrations in Argentina were driven by agricultural and industrial production. Between the years 1857 and 1939, around 25,000 Belgians immigrated.
Furthermore, economic immigration waves had a financial interest and a strong cultural exchange in the early 20th century.
Several emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires city have been designed by Belgian architects and, on the artistic plan, there have been many relevant collaborations and influences in art history.
During the second half of the 19th century –mainly since 1888-, more than 1,000 Luxembourgers emigrated to Argentina.
It was in this context that, in 1917, one of the first binational chambers of the country was founded: the Belgian Chamber of Commerce in Río de la Plata - the current Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Argentina. The Chamber already had 300 members by 1919.
During the period between the two world wars, Belgium and Luxembourg encouraged many sectors of the Argentinan industrialization: textile, metallurgy, chemistry, energy, etc. The percentage of investments from Belgian or Luxembourg companies, like Bekaert, Agfa, Franki, Cresud, Steverlynck, Solvay, Ardeb-Columeta, represented back then the equivalent to 50% of French investments in Argentina.
Since the second half of the 20th century, more companies were established in the country, Ackermans Van Haaren, Jan De Nul, Dredging International, Puratos, Manuchar, Arcelor Mittal, to name a few.
This exchange and investments in Argentina have never ceased as shown by the new companies which have set up or incremented their activities in the country such as Le Pain Quotidien, Tradelog, Kitchenita, Explore Share, Fanbag, Bracht, Forest Cape, Marcel de Buenos Aires, etc.
Our objectives:
(1) To create meeting spaces among Belgian, Luxembourg and Argentinian businesspeople whose activities and/or shares are related to Belgium and Luxembourg with the aim of promoting commercial relations and looking after collective interests.
(2) To develop a network of contacts.
(3) To promote and develop economic relationships among Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Argentina.
Currently, the Chamber gathers several companies active in the dredging, steel, logistic, tourism, 3D printing, art, gastronomy, engineering, etc sectors.
