Axel Goethals

Axel Goethals is CEO of the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), a leading Think Tank based in Brussels, the capital of the European Union (EU), focusing on EU-Asia relations. His current and past directorships and offices include mandates as CEO, Managing Director, and Chairman of several companies and business organizations in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union.

He has a wide experience from different corporate sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, real estate development, CSR, M&A, and management services, in the EU as well as in Asia. He has particular long experience in South Asia in particular.

The research and project activities of EIAS cover a wide range of issues for the further development of EU-Asia relations, with a focus on trade, finance, economics, industrial and technological innovation, R&D, education, migration, sustainable development, geopolitics, and connectivity. In particular, EIAS also focuses on identifying and developing long-term potentials and niche areas in EU- Asia cooperation and with a major emphasis on FinTech, entrepreneurship, and CSR.

EIAS also organizes training programs and capacity building activities for government officials, policymakers, civil society, and professionals from the corporate sector on EU-Asia relations, with a specific focus on the European institutions and its policies, as well as acting as a knowledge exchange platform offering academic and hands-on expertise on decision-making processes especially in improving industrial, trade and investment partnerships in EU-Asia cooperation.