'Belgium remains attractive': business groups respond to media 'misrepresentations'

The international business community has come together in support of Belgium, following negative publicity that began shortly after the Paris terror attacks.

A letter co-signed by 13 different international chambers of commerce states that "Belgium remains an attractive place to invest, a safe place to do business and a great place to live" and that "it is important to reiterate that statistically, Belgium is one of the safest countries in the world".

The show of support from business communities include China, Germany, France and Britain comes in response to what the signatories described as "misrepresentations in some media" after it was discovered that several of those involved in last November's mass killings in Paris had ties to Belgium.

The open letter, which was signed by representatives from Germany, the US, Japan, Russia and Belarus, the Netherlands, China, the Arab nations, France, Italy, Spain, Canada and the UK, goes on to say that: "Speaking on behalf of the international business community, we continue to say YES to Belgium and are committed for the long term."

The letter suggests that it will continue to be "business as usual" and that the perception that Belgium is unsafe is not true.

Between them, the Chambers of Commerce that signed the letter represent more than 1,000 foreign companies employing some 700,000 people in Belgium.