Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attended the meeting between President Luong Cuong and King Philippe of Belgium and exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of Trade Promotion.

On the morning of April 1, at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong and his wife presided over the welcoming ceremony for the Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde during their State visit to Vietnam. This is the first State visit in more than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Belgium, especially in the context of Vietnam entering a new era; an important historical milestone, bringing the relationship between the two countries into a new stage of development, with higher political trust, and more substantial and effective cooperation.

Bộ Công thương•01/04/2025

During the visit, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien attended the talks between President Luong Cuong and the King of Belgium. Also attending the talks were Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy.

At the meeting, President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed the Belgian King Philippe and the high-ranking delegation of the Kingdom of Belgium to pay their first State visit to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973; affirming that the visit is an important historical milestone, opening a new page for the friendly relations between the two countries.

The President affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen multi-faceted cooperation with Belgium, a member country with an important role and voice in the EU; expressed his appreciation for the valuable support of the Belgian people for Vietnam in the past struggle for national independence, as well as the good feelings and contributions of the King and Queen of Belgium personally to the country and people of Vietnam and the bilateral relationship in recent times.

The two sides pledged to continue effectively implementing existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms and studying the development of new cooperation mechanisms to deepen specialized cooperation between the two countries; closely coordinate and support each other at international forums and organizations such as the ASEAN-EU framework, Francophonie, the United Nations, especially at the United Nations Human Rights Council when both countries are members for the 2023-2025 term...

Immediately after the talks, the two leaders witnessed the handover ceremony of cooperation documents between Vietnam and Belgium in many important fields such as culture, trade, climate change, and support for victims of Agent Orange. Accordingly, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Minister-President of the Brussels Capital Region Rudi Vervoort; Minister-President of the Walloon Region Adrien Dolimont; Minister of the Flanders Region in charge of Brussels and the Press Cieltje Van Achter exchanged the document "Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Flanders Investment and Trade Agency and the Walloon Investment-Export Promotion Agency and the Brussels Business Support Agency" under the witness of President Luong Cuong and King Philippe of Belgium.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries’ trade promotion agencies marks an important milestone in building a sustainable cooperation mechanism. According to the agreement in the Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides commit to promoting trade promotion activities in a professional manner, while strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium to develop economic and trade relations between the two countries. This is considered a strategic step to realize the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover in the coming time.

The MoU sets specific goals for enhancing information exchange and coordinating trade promotion events, helping businesses of both countries expand their markets and seek strategic partners. At the same time, both sides pledged to support businesses participating in fairs, exhibitions, research, training and experience exchange activities. In particular, both sides agreed to support women-owned businesses to promote gender equality in international business.

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao-bo/bo-truong-bo-cong-thuong-nguyen-hong-dien-tham-du-buoi-hoi-dam-giua-chu-tich-nuoc-luong-cuong-voi-nha-vua-bi-philippe-va.html