Vietnam Enhances Relations with Belgium, EU

The visits to Belgium and the EU by the Vietnamese Party delegation aim to reinforce the partnership and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, as well as the Vietnam-Belgium friendship and strategic partnership.

Rosy Huong

huongthhd@gmail.com August 20, 2022 | 08:10

Vietnam Enhances Relations with Belgium, EU

At the meeting between Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and First Vice President of the Belgian Senate Andries Gryffroy. Photo: VNA

A Party delegation led by Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, visited Belgium and the European Union (EU) from August 16-19.

During their stay, the delegation had separate meetings with First Vice President of the Belgian Senate Andries Gryffroy; Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Margrethe Vestager; Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora; and President of the Workers Party of Belgium Raoul Hedebouw, Nhan dan (People) newspaper said.

They held working sessions with a number of Belgium agencies such as Directorate-General for Innovation (DG Innovation); Directorate-General for Marine and Fisheries Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE); and Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).

They also organised a roundtable dialogue with the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS).

At the meetings and working sessions, Anh said that the visit aimed to reinforce the partnership and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, as well as the Vietnam-Belgium friendship and strategic partnership in agriculture, while specifying cooperation contents reached by senior leaders of Vietnam, Belgium and the EU.

At the meeting between Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Margrethe Vestager. Photo: VNA

Anh affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to cooperation with Belgium and the EU, highlighting that the cooperation potential between the two sides.

He underscored Vietnam's development needs and requirements in accordance with the strategic development goals set at the 13th Party Congress.

Leaders of the EU, Belgium and partners underlined that they consider Vietnam a leading partner in the region, while leaders of the EC and Belgium expressed their delight at the growing ties with Vietnam, especially after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect.

Leaders of Belgium and the EU affirmed that they will hasten the parliaments of EU member countries to speed up the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and proposed that the two sides coordinate closely together to effectively implement the EVFTA and diverse cooperation frameworks in many areas.

At the working session between Tran Tuan Anh, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and President of the Workers Party of Belgium Raoul Hedebouw. Photo: VNA

Leaders of the EU and Belgium said that they will continue to strengthen cooperation in areas such as climate change response, sustainable energy transition, green economy, digital economy, innovation and development, marine economy, maritime security, development of new supply chains, and logistics. EC leaders suggested that Vietnam continue to support the EU to soon complete negotiations and sign the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, and at the same time strengthen coordination to jointly solve new challenges arising in the region and the world./.

The trade revenue between Vietnam and Belgium in the January – May period this year hit over $2.1 billion, up over 40% year-on-year. Belgium is now the fifth largest trade partner of Vietnam in EU, while Vietnam is the second biggest partner of the European country in the ASEAN. By the end of May, Belgium had 81 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of nearly $1.1 billion.

Thanks to the EVFTA that took effect on August 1, 2020, Vietnam’s exports to the EU still rose 14.2% year on year to $45.8 billion in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic’s impacts. The revenue increased 22.6% to $23.82 billion in the first half of this year, statistics show, as cited by VietnamPlus.

Notably, about $7.8 billion in exports to the EU used the EUR.1 certificate of origin in 2021. Up to $5.84 billion worth of goods used this type of certificate in the first six months of 2022, up 32.1% from a year earlier.

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Rosy Huong