Minister-President Adrien Dolimont at the major CJG conference on industry: "Industry is the backbone of a robust economy and our most precious raw material is brainpower"

On the occasion of the conference organised by the Centre Jean Gol on the theme "Industry facing its existential challenges", the Minister-President of the Walloon Government, Adrien Dolimont, gave a midday address. With a direct and determined tone, he sought to propel the region into a dynamic of boldness and ambition, fully embracing an ambitious and unapologetic industrial policy.

From the outset, Adrien Dolimont recalled that economic and industrial development is one of his government's priorities. For him, this is not simply about growth, but about redeployment: rediscovering Wallonia's historic industrial strength while fully embracing the major digital and energy transitions. Wallonia, he stressed, has every asset needed to succeed in this movement: high-performing, export-oriented companies, a fabric of innovative SMEs, a network of quality research centres and universities, and skilled, well-trained people. “Perhaps what we lacked until now was belief. But I think today we have the conviction that Wallonia can matter, both in Belgium and internationally.”

The Minister-President outlined an overview of often little-known Walloon achievements in strategic sectors: biotech, pharma, aeronautics, space, defence, as well as agri-food, eco-construction and manufacturing. All areas where Wallonia already stands out through its expertise and integration into European value chains. In his view, these successes should serve as the foundation for a new stage: “Industry is the backbone of a robust economy. It is time to become ambitious again.”

To succeed in this redeployment, Adrien Dolimont identified several essential conditions. The first is the stability and clarity of the tax and regulatory framework. Too often, businesses are held back by unstable or constantly changing legislation. “What we need is a framework that may not be perfect, but is predictable in the long term,” he stressed, highlighting the need to reduce administrative red tape and give investors visibility. The second key is access to secure and competitive energy: not only guaranteeing supply, but also ensuring that energy prices do not undermine industrial competitiveness. This comes with a deliberate pragmatism regarding energy choices: investment in nuclear power, openness to low-carbon technologies, and consideration of hydrogen, in order to build lasting energy sovereignty. He also stressed the importance of not remaining naïve in the face of rapid technological change, by quickly integrating innovation into the economic fabric and even into public services.

More broadly, Adrien Dolimont reaffirmed the importance of Wallonia's research and innovation centres. “Our most precious raw material is brainpower,” he reiterated, announcing his intention to strengthen support mechanisms for research so as to turn them into strategic levers for the economy. The Minister-President also warned of new challenges, such as cybersecurity, highlighting its concrete threats and major economic and human consequences.

Finally, he was keen to hammer home a message of confidence and political courage. Wallonia must no longer be timid but must go on the offensive, daring to give itself the means to match its ambitions: “Less dependence, more sovereignty. Fewer constraints, more clarity. Less hesitation, more boldness.” For Adrien Dolimont, it is essential to move beyond nostalgia for an idealised industrial past in order to build the industry of tomorrow. This must be a collective project: with businesses, researchers, workers and investors. “Wallonia has all the qualities needed to play in the top league once again, in Europe and around the world. It is time to raise our heads and write Wallonia's renewal.”

You can find the full speech by Minister-President Adrien Dolimont here

Good day everyone, I'll try to be pretty much straight to the point so you can take away the key messages. I know there have already been quite a few interesting panels this morning. Honestly, when I saw the quality of the speakers and the panels, I think you really are lucky to be attending a day that is quite memorable, which, I hope, will serve, firstly, to help us engage with the challenges that concern us, and secondly, to network and discuss the challenges every business must face, and to exchange views. I think that's really what's essential here. As you know, one of the government's priorities is clearly economic development. We have truly placed it at the forefront of our vision for government. When I say economic development, I also mean industrial development. We shouldn't be afraid to embrace it. And I'd even like to use another term. Because we've often talked about our historical past. It's about talking of re-development. Because we used to be a strong industrial force. Moreover, on this matter, Wallonia truly has all the assets needed to succeed in this industrial re-development. We now hold the cards, and so it's up to us to play them in order to have a fairly central role in a context that is admittedly complicated, but I really feel that we are at a turning point and must keep going. Do everything possible to be able to count and exist within this framework. And so today, Wallonia has the ambition to have an industrial policy that is unashamed. I think that's really the right term today, forward-looking, with, of course, the major transitions in mind - digital transitions, low-carbon transitions. It is obviously an economic choice, but also a political one. I think we must own that today: it's about guaranteeing our prosperity, our security, and of course our autonomy. I believe that more than ever today, Wallonia has a role to play in European affairs. I think today it's also a matter of credibility, in fact. I think we can see that credibility also comes through strengthening this autonomy, this strategic resilience. And our region is not condemned to follow others. I think we must also be at the forefront in certain sectors. We must dare. We have many assets. And perhaps the asset we lacked until now was believing in it. And when I see the number of people present here today, I think that shows we want to believe in it, and we want to count, of course, on a national scale, and internationally too. We have a fabric of high-performing businesses in various sectors that innovate, that export, and that, incidentally, also live with a certain degree of uncertainty. We've talked about it enough. Of course, you follow the news, which changes from day to day. And so this really shows the importance of being open. We have strategic sectors well established here. I'm thinking of biotech, of pharma. And there, we are truly among the best in the world. But fortunately, it's not limited to these sectors. In aeronautics, in space, we are also very robust. Our companies participate in European projects, in international projects. They are major players. I also saw players from the defence sector. The defence sector today is an opportunity we must seize. We have a strong track record in this sector. We must step up. And that's actually what we're doing in our development strategy. We must integrate into European value chains and benefit from our geographical position - that's a fact - as well as from our position in terms of infrastructure quality and the quality of our economic fabric. We also have other sectors, because I wouldn't want to limit myself only to the ones I've just mentioned: in eco-construction, in the agri-food industry, in manufacturing, Wallonia has champions in all these sectors too. I don't think we say that enough. And every day, they're able to showcase their expertise, of course here on our territory, but often internationally too. We're also fortunate to have high-level research centres and quality researchers, so we must invest even more in them. That's a differentiating factor for our territory. Investing in innovation is the concrete translation of European science into economic opportunity. I don't think that should be taboo either. And our research centres clearly have a role to play. I'm actually working very hard on amending the research decree, which of course governs all research aid, because I want it to be much more strategic, much more efficient, and much more direct. We must be concretely linked to economic development. We also have skilled labour. We must also work hard on this. Pierre-Yves Jeholet puts a lot of energy into this every day too. We also have creativity here. We also have quality university education. We don't always realise it, but we have an enormous number of strengths. So the strengths are there, they're very real. We shouldn't be embarrassed by our strengths. On the contrary, we must now fully mobilise them and turn them into concrete achievements. And that's what we're trying to do. Now, coming back to today's challenge and discussions, industry is clearly the backbone of a robust economy. We may have forgotten that, but it's clearly one of the differentiating factors. We've seen this, moreover, with the crises we've experienced in recent years. I like to use the example of the global value chains that were blocked. There were shortages in every sector, and even toilet paper became strategic. That shows that at some point, if we have supply problems for steel or semiconductors - and that's being discussed even more now - we need to make ourselves as independent as possible. So we really must work on this economic sovereignty, and that's exactly the challenge Europe wants to embrace today too, and that's obviously the challenge Wallonia wants to engage in with great strength and determination. And that's what I stand for as Walloon Minister-President. It's an ambition I want to be clear about: putting in place an unashamed industrial policy. But one that also aims to be ambitious and assertive. Perhaps too often in the past, we asked ourselves too many questions. I'm not saying we should do just anything, but at some point, today, we need to be able to set out much faster lines of action. So what does that translate into? It translates into an attractive framework to welcome, retain, and develop our businesses, and to help them open up further internationally. That means less red tape, more clarity for those who want to invest. Being able to focus on one's business must be essential. We obviously want access to energy. I know that was one of the topics this morning too. That's clearly a fundamental and strategic element. Access is one thing, and that's already no easy matter today on our territory. Then there's the whole issue of supply security, the price of energy, which is also an important competitive factor we want to work on. We obviously also want a competitive tax and regulatory environment. What does that mean? It means we must stop changing the rules too often. What you're looking for is obviously a competitive legislative framework. Certainly perhaps imperfect in some respects, but above all as stable as possible over the long term. We're well aware of that. However, please excuse us for wanting to make it as clear as possible, as quickly as possible. So there may be a bit more change still to come. But the idea is then to make it as clear and as efficient as possible. One of Europe's major challenges is also open markets. I think building the European market must be a shared will among all stakeholders in this fine project. I think too often today we have layer upon layer of regulation that still differs from one country to another, and that's quite complicated. So we really need to be able to work on that too. Wallonia also wants to play its full role because, quite simply, we want to play in the big leagues too. As I said, we have a lot of strengths and we must give it our all for that. One last fundamental point, which I mentioned briefly earlier, is support for research. We're fortunate to have an inexhaustible raw material that we must keep nurturing. That's grey matter. Grey matter is what drives our innovation, what drives our economic development. And so we really want to work on every aspect, whether at the fundamental level, at the Federation or at the ULB, with basic research and development where investment may be greater. And then, with more marketable research, we try to translate it directly into economic value with solutions that aim to be sustainable and competitive, steered at the regional level. That works out well. I often talk with the Minister for Research of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, since that's me. That allows me sometimes to sign cooperation agreements with both hands, so to speak. It allows for greater efficiency in the policy we want to pursue. But beyond these more general considerations, we also want to focus our efforts on strategic sectors. Today, we need to stop trying to do everything. We must be good at what we do. Not be naïve. Of course, we stay alert to emerging new technologies. But above all, we must focus on the areas where we excel, and invest massively in them. In short, it's about capitalising on our strengths: circular materials, health and agri-food, sustainable housing, energy. And we have a great many strengths, as I mentioned earlier: biotech, pharma, aeronautics, space, defence. And as I said, we mustn't turn a blind eye to what's currently developing either. We live in a world that's changing fast, evolving fast. Of course, we stay alert to emerging new technologies. But above all, we must focus on the core businesses you are developing. I think that's one of the truly major elements. So I don't have the ambition here in Wallonia to revolutionise artificial intelligence. I think we also need to be humble about that. The research and development side happens in countries that are very much at the cutting edge in this field. What I want above all is for us to be attentive to all these technological developments and, above all, to integrate them as quickly as possible into our economic circles. I think that's essential if we want to remain competitive. That's not today's topic either, but we also want to integrate it as quickly as possible into our public sector, because I think we too need to focus on our essential missions - that remains a fairly fundamental point. As for new technologies, we must of course remain alert, not naïve. I think we also need to realise that market realities are taking shape. That means investing in hydrogen, in low-carbon technology. I think no one denies the challenge of the energy transition. I know people often try to say we're climate sceptics, etc. But that's false. We're simply pragmatic. At some point, we want to have a broad vision. We don't just want to think on the scale of our own territory. We want to open up, first to Europe, and then to the world. So it's good to be the top of the class. But if that means being unable to afford this energy transition, then it simply doesn't make sense. So we really need to find the right balance in this regard. Nuclear power is, of course, also a central element. And when I talk about new technologies, that obviously also includes new technologies within the nuclear framework. That must not be a dogma. There is, of course, the issue of waste management, which we're also working on, because we obviously have to take responsibility for the waste produced by nuclear energy production. But that's also part of the reflection on energy sovereignty. We must keep a lot of resolve in our determination to develop these new technologies. And then, one last element that's essential to me within new technologies is cybersecurity. I don't think we should deny that issue either. It's a major challenge for our societies today. We saw this again recently with Brussels Airport. The disruption this can cause obviously involves economic impacts that can be colossal. It can also pose dangers to human beings. That's also true for us, regarding the cybersecurity of our infrastructure. We're obviously very attentive to that. And so we really must keep investing and raising awareness about the importance of working in these fields. And so, as you've understood, what we're proposing is clearly not a timid policy - it's a policy of conquest. I don't think we should be afraid of words. It's less dependence, more sovereignty, fewer constraints, more clarity, less hesitation, more boldness. It's time to lift our heads up - I think we're there today, it's a turning point. I think Europe too must ask itself what it wants to do; we're also at a turning point on a European scale, I'm convinced of that. And I want to insist, perhaps, on one principle, and that's what I'm glad to see. A room this full clearly shows that we won't move forward alone. We must move forward together. This reindustrialisation will be co-built with businesses, with researchers, and with investors too. Because that's a huge task we must also focus on. I think there's too much capital fleeing towards the United States, but that's another debate. We must be able to take that on too. It might be a bit too much to discuss today, but that's something we also need to work on. And the last element we really need to focus on is workers. Honestly, we really need to put a lot of energy into this as well. Wallonia has talent, it has know-how, it has the businesses, it has its research centres. In short, it has all the qualities to be at the forefront on a European scale, and I'd even say on a global scale. We have a strong industrial history. Too often, we're nostalgic about the past, and I think we should be proud of our past, but not nostalgic, and above all we should focus on our ability to build the industry of tomorrow, and thus build Wallonia's renewal. Today, we must stop apologising for what has been done. We must put all our energy into action and conquest in the service of our territory, in the service of our economic development. Thank you for your attention.