HUAWEI, one of the first new generation worldwide providers for telecom operators, will launch on 18th December 2009, a R&D center in the Science Park of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium).

Provider for most of the European telecom operators such as Vodafone, France Telecom/Orange, Telefonica or KPN/Telfort, Huawei has also signed partnerships agreement with the most important Belgian integrators and operators.

Already in Belgium since 2007, Huawei is a 87.500 staff worldwide enterprise. The company enjoys already 4 European R&D centers. The Louvain-la-Neuve centre will be added to the list of R&D centers located in Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam and Munich (HQ).

Among the several R&D domains, the Huawei R&D Louvain-la-Neuve center will be more focusing on “Application & Software” and reporting to the “Software” BU or Huawei Software Company.

Huawei has chosen Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park due to its convenient location near Brussels, its facilities in terms of accessibility and mobility, and also due to its hi-tech environment represented by more than 150 enterprises and the potentiality of sustainable cooperation with local partners like the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL).

As Minister of Economy and New Technologies, Jean Claude Marcourt, Vice President of the Wallonia government, is very pleased with the decision of the Chinese group to set up its R&D operations in Wallonia. This choice confirms once again the technological excellence of the Wallonia Region and the important role that Universities play in the attraction of new investments.

The Minister underligned the symbolism that represents this particular Chinese investment, occurring a few days after the inauguration in the Wallonia Region of a business center designed specifically to help Chinese companies to develop their business in our region.

This project has been followed and facilitated since December 2007 by a combined action of AWEX (Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency – Office for Foreign Investors - ) and the Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park Management.

This strategy is indeed the one that Huawei is developing in most of its locations in Europe, such as in the Scientific Park of Malaga - PTA (Spain) which is, like Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park, member of IASP (International Association of Science Parks).

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