On the afternoon of August 22, President Vo Van Thuong received President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose, who is on an official visit to Vietnam.

On behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Vo Van Thuong believes that the visit will open a new chapter in the cooperative relationship between the Vietnamese and Belgian National Assembly, contributing to promoting positive development of the relationship between the two countries.

The President sent his regards to the King and Queen of Belgium, and said he had sent an invitation and looked forward to welcoming the King and Queen of Belgium to Vietnam soon. Photo: VPCTN

Informing the President about the good results of the talks and meetings with Vietnamese leaders, Ms. Stephanie D'Hose shared her impressions and attraction to the country and people of Vietnam. "The Vietnamese people are probably the most hospitable and friendly people in the world," Ms. Stephanie D'Hose said.

Belgian Senate President Stephanie D'Hose said that after this visit, many delegations from Belgium will visit Vietnam with the hope of promoting cooperation and investment relations with Vietnam.

Ms. Stephanie D'Hose 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 additional aid to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin as well as support the Vietnamese Government in assisting victims of Agent Orange...

Thanking Ms. Stephanie D'Hose for her good feelings towards the country and people of Vietnam, President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that the Vietnamese people are very sincere and hospitable, and believes that the President of the Senate will meet and receive more warm feelings from the Vietnamese people.

Pleased and moved by the approval of a Resolution by the Belgian House of Representatives on supporting Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, the President emphasized that this is information of humanitarian significance.

The President said that Vietnam is ready to welcome Belgian delegations to visit and work in Vietnam. Although many results have been achieved, the potential is still very large. The President suggested that the two countries promote cooperation programs and projects in: Education, investment, trade, climate change response, digital transformation, green economy, etc.

Striving for trade turnover to soon reach 7 billion USD

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed President Stéphanie D'Hose to Vietnam and recalled the good impressions of her visit to Belgium , including the meeting between the Prime Minister and the President.

Belgium has always been among Vietnam's leading trade partners in the EU and Vietnam is Belgium's largest trade partner in ASEAN. In 2022, two-way trade reached 4.73 billion USD.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President of the Belgian Senate. Photo: VGP

To enhance political trust and expand and deepen bilateral relations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that the two sides continue to increase delegation exchanges at all levels; closely coordinate at multilateral and international forums, especially in issues such as conflict prevention, peacekeeping, climate change, etc.

The Prime Minister said that both sides need to take full advantage of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), striving to bring trade turnover to 7 billion USD in the next 2-3 years. The Prime Minister asked Belgium to continue creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese seafood, traditional agricultural products such as rice, coffee and seasonal agricultural products, garments, footwear, and electronics to enter the Belgian and EU markets.

The Prime Minister also asked the Belgian Senate to push for the Belgian Parliament to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); support and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU "yellow card" for Vietnamese seafood products.

Appreciating Belgium’s ODA provision to Vietnam, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides continue to cooperate in key areas, new areas, renewable energy, digital transformation, digital economy, innovation, green economy, circular economy; and study the establishment of a tripartite cooperation mechanism between Vietnam, Belgium and African partners to respond to food security issues.

The Prime Minister also thanked and asked Belgium to continue to care for, support and help Vietnamese victims of dioxin.

President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose highly agreed with the Prime Minister's opinion. She said that during the visit, she hoped that there would be a higher cooperation mechanism between the Belgian Parliament and the Vietnamese National Assembly, contributing to promoting the relationship between the two countries.

The Belgian Parliament is actively taking steps to ratify the EVIPA before Belgium ends its term as President of the Council of the European Union.

This morning, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son received President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D'Hose. Photo: BNG

The Chairman affirmed that the Belgian Senate will strive to promote the Vietnam-Belgium relationship to develop further through many specific actions, programs and projects, including the areas mentioned by the Prime Minister, especially in innovation, trade development, supply chain linkage and support for Vietnamese dioxin victims.

Vietnamnet.vn