Vietnam, Belgium Increase Coordination at Multilateral Forum

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly's Committee for External Relations Don Tuan Phong.

Regarding the context of the official visit to Vietnam by the President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose, Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly's Committee for External Relations Don Tuan Phong said that this is the highest-ranking politician of the Kingdom of Belgium to visit Vietnam in 2023.

This visit is on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (March 22, 1973 - March 22, 2023).

The visit of the President of the Senate Stéphanie D'Hose aims to promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation as well as cooperation between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the Parliament of Belgium.

It also enhances coordination between the two countries at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, and regional and international inter-parliamentary organizations.

During the visit, the two sides will sign a number of agreements between the Belgian Senate, House of Representatives, and the National Assembly of Vietnam, contributing to the establishment of a cooperation framework between the two countries.

Vice President Don Tuan Phong emphasized that Belgium is an important partner of Vietnam in the European Union as well as in the world, and also an important economic and trade partner, the gateway of Vietnamese goods to the European market.

Belgium is also home to the headquarters of international agencies, organizations, and the EU. Therefore, Belgium has an important position in promoting relations between Vietnam and Belgium, the EU, and the region.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese NA's Committee for External Relations affirmed that the visit of Senate President Stéphanie D'Hose is also an opportunity for the two sides to re-evaluate the results of cooperation in the past five years, and propose cooperation measures, especially in the agricultural sector. Vietnam and the Kingdom of Belgium established a strategic partnership in the agricultural sector.

President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose.

The Kingdom of Belgium also has a lot of strengths and potential for Vietnam to strengthen cooperation, especially in Belgium's key industries, service industries, logistics, clean energy, alternative energy, education, science and technology.

Don Tuan Phong said that during the upcoming visit of the President of the Belgian Senate, in addition to the two sides discussing strengthening parliamentary cooperation, the leaders of the Belgian Senate and the Vietnamese National Assembly will discuss measures to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.

Therefore, in the program of the visit, in addition to talks with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, the President of the Belgian Senate will greet President Vo Van Thuong, meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

She will visit and work in some localities, and survey the actual situation of a number of cooperation projects between Vietnam and Belgium.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese NA's Committee for External Relations emphasized that, in recent years, Belgium has been a great partner of Vietnam.

During the cooperation, Belgium supported Vietnam with about US$300 million, focusing mainly on the period from 1993 to now, especially in the fields where Vietnam has needs and Belgium has strengths.

This is a significant resource in the socio-economic development of Vietnam.

Don Tuan Phong said that this visit of the President of the Belgian Senate is a follow-up visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Belgium in 2021 in a special context.

With Belgium's important position in the EU and in the world, Vietnam wishes to strengthen its relationship with Belgium and vice versa. At international forums, Belgium and Vietnam cooperated quite closely, especially in the recent term when the two countries were both non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Currently, both countries are members of the United Nations Human Rights Council. One of the important contents is coordination at multilateral forums, including those of the United Nations.

Not only having close cooperation at international forums, the two sides are also interested in economic and trade cooperation contents.

After about 3 years of implementing the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), trade between Vietnam and the EU has grown positively. Belgium is one of the most important gateways and also a supporter of the EVFTA.

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