National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue holds talks with President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Belgium

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked Belgium to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese export goods to access the Belgian and EU markets, especially rice and coffee.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomes President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose. (Source: VNA)

At the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, on the morning of August 21, President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose and a delegation of the Belgian Parliament arrived in Hanoi, beginning an official visit to Vietnam from August 21-25.

On the morning of August 21, at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue chaired the official welcoming ceremony for Senate President Stephanie D'Hose. After the welcoming ceremony, the two sides held talks.

Warmly welcoming Ms. Stephanie D'Hose and her delegation to an official visit to Vietnam, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that the President of the Belgian Senate is the highest-ranking Belgian politician to visit Vietnam in 2023, on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership in the field of agriculture.

This is an opportunity for the two sides to recognize and agree on directions and solutions to strengthen the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two parliamentary bodies, contributing to consolidating the cooperative relationship between the two countries.

Thanking National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and the Vietnamese National Assembly for the warm welcome, President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose expressed her pleasure to officially visit Vietnam.

The President of the Belgian Senate said that this was his first visit to Vietnam and this was his longest visit since the beginning of his term.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose. (Source: VNA)

At the talks, both sides agreed to highly appreciate the friendly cooperation between the two countries. The two sides are organizing many activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The EVFTA being implemented is one of the achievements in economic cooperation between Vietnam and the EU in general and Belgium in particular.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked Belgium to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese export goods to access the Belgian and EU markets, especially rice and coffee.

The President of the Belgian Senate has asked Vietnam to facilitate visas for Belgian and EU citizens to visit Vietnam. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue announced that at the recent 5th Session, the Vietnamese National Assembly passed a law with important amendments to visa policies for foreigners.

Regarding development cooperation, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue thanked Belgium for its support in recent times and suggested that the two sides continue to cooperate in key areas such as clean agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy, and green economy through the Belgian Government's preferential credit package (Fiexpo), in accordance with the conditions of both sides and ensuring harmony of interests.

Belgium supports Vietnam with resources, finance, institution building and human resource training, promotes sustainable development, circular economy, environmental protection, climate change response, especially in the transition process, implementing commitments at COP26 within the framework of JETP; has specific projects to help Vietnam respond to climate change, especially supporting areas vulnerable to climate change such as the Northern mountainous region, the Central Coast and the Mekong Delta in green development, combating saline intrusion, focusing on "nature-friendly" solutions, based on ecosystems, based on communities combining indigenous knowledge, and technology transfer.

Both sides highly appreciated the importance of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked the Belgian Parliament to accelerate the ratification process of EVIPA. The President of the Belgian Senate said that the Belgian Parliament is accelerating the ratification process of this agreement, which is expected to be completed around early 2024.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks. (Source: VNA)

Proposing the Belgian Parliament to urge the EC to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue affirmed that Vietnamese authorities are actively implementing solutions to sustainably exploit aquatic resources for the benefit of Vietnam itself.

Both sides highly appreciated the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries in the agricultural sector, and wished to deepen this relationship by establishing a food supply chain.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested that the two countries cooperate to improve their capacity to ensure hygiene and quarantine of animals and plants, and ensure the quality of goods in accordance with EU technical standards. Vietnam welcomes Belgian enterprises to invest in Vietnam in the fields of green and sustainable development, maintaining existing supply chains and developing new supply chains in which both sides have strengths.

The President of the Belgian Senate was pleased to announce that Belgium will coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize a workshop to promote agricultural cooperation within the framework of strategic agricultural cooperation between the two countries next October.

President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose speaks. (Source: VNA)

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, the two Presidents assessed that the cooperation between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the Belgian Federal Parliament in general, and the Senate in particular, has developed well, been implemented at all levels, with the Federal Parliament, the Parliaments of the Regions and the Linguistic Community, and achieved many positive results.

The National Assembly Chairman hopes that the Belgian Parliament will share its experience with the Vietnamese National Assembly in building legal institutions related to the fields of digital transformation and equitable energy transition.

The two sides will increase the exchange of high-level delegations and committees, friendship parliamentary groups of the two countries, groups of female parliamentarians, young parliamentarians, etc.; promote consultation and mutual support mechanisms at multilateral parliamentary forums (IPU, ASEP, APF); coordinate to promote the implementation of sustainable development goals; coordinate to monitor and promote the effective implementation of agreements signed by the two governments; support and promote cooperation between localities and the business community.

At the meeting, the President of the Belgian Senate was pleased to announce that a resolution is expected to be approved by the Belgian House of Representatives on supporting Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. The resolution calls on the Belgian Government to promote efforts to provide more aid to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin as well as support the Vietnamese Government in helping victims of Agent Orange...

Ms. Stephanie D'Hose said that this Resolution is under consultation and is expected to be approved in October 2023; at the same time, she emphasized that the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group is very interested in this resolution. Belgium is ready to cooperate, share experiences and knowledge in research, production and manufacturing of technology to remove Agent Orange/dioxin.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue thanked the President of the Belgian Senate for the information shared. He stressed that although the war has ended, the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin for the Vietnamese people are still very severe. Vietnam sincerely thanks the international community, including the Kingdom of Belgium, for their assistance in helping Vietnam detoxify dioxin and support victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue holds talks with President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose. (Source: VNA)

The two leaders discussed cooperation in the fields of education and training. Belgium shared experiences and supported Vietnam in building a high-quality education system; promoted cooperation and exchange between educational institutions of the two sides and vocational training; increased scholarships and created conditions for Vietnamese students and workers to study and improve their qualifications and skills; continued to care for and support the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in Belgium; created conditions for Vietnamese businesses to operate and develop stably, contributing more to the local society; connected and trained to send legal workers to work for Belgian and EU businesses.

The two countries continue to coordinate effectively in multilateral and international forums such as the United Nations, the Organization of the Francophonie, ASEM, IPU...

Sharing the outstanding results in economic and social development, especially in sustainable poverty reduction, new rural construction, ensuring human rights, creating sustainable livelihoods for people, etc., the National Assembly Chairman welcomed Belgium and EU countries to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with Vietnam in this field for common interests, and at the same time, support each other when Vietnam and Belgium are both members of the Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

On this occasion, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue respectfully invited the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Belgium to send a delegation of young parliamentarians to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians to be held in Vietnam next September. The President of the Belgian Senate affirmed that Belgium will send a delegation to Vietnam to attend the conference.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose signed a Letter of Intent on cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Belgian Parliament. (Source: VNA)

After the talks, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Senate President Stephanie D'Hose signed a Letter of Intent on cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Belgian Parliament.

According to the program, in the evening of the same day, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hosted a reception for President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose and the Belgian Parliamentary Delegation on an official visit to Vietnam.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chu-tich-quoc-hoi-vuong-dinh-hue-hoi-dam-voi-chu-tich-thuong-vien-vuong-quoc-bi-239132.html