Closer Luxembourg & Belgium ties

(ADW) Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders was on a visit to Luxembourg on Thursday evening for a meeting with Jean Asselborn, the Deputy Prime Minister. On the agenda: strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the meeting the two ministers showed a willingness to strengthen cooperation between Belgium and Luxembourg at various levels.

"We want to improve rail links and connections between Luxembourg and Brussels," said Asselborn. The two countries also plan to strengthen military cooperation and "regroup the Benelux countries to manage political affairs," continued the Deputy Prime Minister.

Didier Reynders reiterated that the EU must defend certain fundamental rights following the evolution of Arab Spring countries. “We must encourage and support some countries, while remaining vigilant with others,” he stated.

Jean Asselborn also put forward plans to readdress the balance of import and export between the two countries. While Luxembourg imports products from Belgium worth 5.7 billion euros, exports count for 1.4 billion.

At the end of the meeting, both ministers signed a Luxembourg-Belgium agreement concerning the exchange and mutual protection of classified information.