Outgoing British, Belgian Ambassadors Bid Farewell to President

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) receives British Ambassador Gareth Ward. (Photo: VNA)

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 6 hosted receptions for the outgoing ambassadors of the UK and Belgium, who came to bid farewell to the State leader.

Receiving British Ambassador Gareth Ward, President Phuc highlighted the two important milestones in the diplomat’s term, namely the signing and enforcement of the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) in December 2020 and the approval of the Joint Declaration on Vietnam - UK strategic partnership in September 2020, towards elevating the bilateral relations in the next ten years.

The President appreciated the Ambassador for actively coordinating to arrange Vietnamese senior leaders’ visits to the UK, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s trip to the UK to attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to the European country in late June this year.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK is the European country with the most frequent exchange of high-level delegations with Vietnam, he said.

He took this occasion to thank the UK for being one of the first countries to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam with a total of over 2.7 million doses through bilateral and COVAX mechanisms; along with medical equipment worth 500,000 GBP for Vietnam through UNICEF.

President Phuc hoped that Ward will continue to work as an important bridge to promote the Vietnam - UK relations.

For his part, Ward spoke highly of Vietnam's role in ASEAN and wished that Vietnam will be a bridge for the UK to make deeper inroad into the ASEAN trade market.

The diplomat said that 2023 will mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and there will be many activities to strengthen cooperative relations between Vietnam and the UK in different fields, including people-to-people exchange, education, and high technology.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and Belgian Ambassador Paul Jansen (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnamese leader thanked Belgium and the diplomat himself for actively supporting Vietnam in negotiating and signing the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), expressing his hope that the Belgian Parliament will soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

President Phuc said he believed that the ambassador will always be a close friend of Vietnam and a bridge to promote the friendship and all-around cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium.

Jansen thanked the President for supporting the Belgian Embassy's initiatives in promoting investment cooperation with Vietnam, hoping that in the future his country will have more large-scale investment projects in Vietnam.

The number of Vietnamese students studying in Belgium has been on the rise and this is an important bridge in the relations between the two countries, he said.

The ambassador expressed his wish that more and more Vietnamese students, teachers and Vietnamese businesses will come to Belgium to study, work and seek investment opportunities.

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