Strengthening exchange of experiences and practices to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, enhancing the economic, trade and investment relationships and boosting the European Union-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement are some of Belgium’s priorities in its cooperation with Vietnam.

At the meeting with Ambassador of Vietnam to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao at the headquarter of the Belgium Senate on Oct. 13, president of the Belgian senate Stephanie D’Hose welcomed the newly appointed ambassador and wished ambassador Van Thao a successful tenure, hoping that he would contribute to bringing Vietnam – Belgium relations to a new level.

President of Belgium Senate Stephanie D'Hose affirmed that pushing for the approval of the European Union-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement is a priority in Belgium’s cooperative relationships with Vietnam. Photo: Rtbf.be

President D'Hose expressed her belief in the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially between the national assemblies of Vietnam and Belgium, as proved by the positive results from the recent official visit to Belgium of the Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue and the high-level delegation of Vietnam.

The head of the Belgian senate underlined the increasingly important roles of the national assemblies of different countries as the Covid-19 pandemic and global situations have been quickly changing.

President D’Hose requested both countries to continue boosting the inter-parliamentary partnership and expressed her hope to visit Vietnam in the coming time.

Ambassador of Vietnam to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao met president of the Belgian senate Stephanie D’Hose at the headquarter of the senate on Oct. 13. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

Discussing the economic relationship between Vietnam and Belgium, president D’Hose praised the achievements that both countries had made and affirmed that she would continue to advocate for the ratification of the European Union-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement.

To enhance comprehensively the bilateral relations, president D’Hose also requested both countries to seek opportunities to strengthen cooperation in education, culture and people-to-people ties.

On his part, Ambassador Van Thao affirmed his commitment to contribute to deepening the relationships between Vietnam and Belgium in all aspects.

Looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of Belgium – Vietnam diplomatic relations (1973-2023), the ambassador forwarded the invitation of Vietnamese leaders to leaders of Belgium's parliament to visit Vietnam.

Ambassador Van Thao also conveyed the message from the Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue on the success of the official visit of the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly in September.

Made at the invitation of the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, the visit aimed to carry out the 13th National Party Congress’s foreign policy and strengthen Vietnam-European Union and Vietnam-Belgium relations.

In September 2021, Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue had a two-day working visit to the European Parliament in Belgium. Photo: baodantoc.vn

In economic and trade cooperation, Ambassador Van Thao believed both countries had ample room to enhance collaboration especially in the sectors that Belgium had experiences in developing and Vietnam had high demand of, such as renewable energy, smart agriculture, harbors, logistics, digital economy, climate change adaptation and response, and smart cities.

The ambassador requested that Belgium soon approve and urge other European Union members to complete the ratification of the European Union-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, highlighting that the agreement would bring more opportunities for businesses from Belgium and other European Union countries interested in investing in Vietnam and the neighboring areas.

In addition, the ambassador underlined that as two countries with rich cultural traditions, Vietnam and Belgium should prioritize strengthening cultural and educational exchange to boost mutual understanding between the two countries.

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