Promoting cooperation between the Walloon Region (Belgium) and localities of Vietnam

On the last day of his working trip to the Kingdom of Belgium, on the evening of November 17 (local time), in the city of Namur, Permanent Vice President of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation worked with President of the Walloon Region Parliament, André Frédéric.

Thúc đẩy quan hệ hợp tác giữa Vùng Wallonie (Bỉ) với các địa phương của Việt Nam. (Nguồn: Đại biểu nhân dân)

On the evening of November 17, Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man had a working session with President of the Walloon Region Parliament, André Frédéric. (Source: People's Deputies)

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man expressed his pleasure to visit Belgium in the context of 2023, when the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of strategic partnership in agriculture. This is a very meaningful moment in the cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium, opening a new stage of development in bilateral relations, affirming the close relationship between the two countries.

He affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to developing cooperative relations with Belgium - an important member of the European Union (EU) - and wishes to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with Belgium in all fields, at the federal, regional and community levels, through Party, Government, National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchanges.

Appreciating the role, scope of activities and powers of the Walloon Parliament in the Belgian political system and in the international arena, Permanent Vice President of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man also sincerely thanked the Walloon Parliament for ratifying the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); he hoped that Walloon parliamentarians would have a voice to urge Belgium to soon complete the ratification process of this agreement in order to create momentum to promote investment relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, creating favorable conditions for Belgian enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man was pleased to see that Wallonia Region’s projects on education - training, logistics, agriculture, climate change and environment in Vietnam are being actively implemented through the Wallonia - Brussels Delegation and the Belgian Embassy in Hanoi. He expressed his hope that the Wallonia Region Parliament and Government will continue to strengthen projects and forms of cooperation to contribute to the development of education as well as other fields in Vietnam.

Overview of the meeting. (Source: People's Representative)

Over the past time, the relationship between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Belgian Parliament has developed well, through many forms: maintaining exchanges of high-level delegations, committees, and Parliamentary Friendship Groups. The Standing Vice President of the National Assembly highly appreciated the relationship with the regional parliaments of Belgium and hoped that in the future, the Walloon Parliament and Government will continue to strengthen cooperative relations with Vietnam.

For his part, President of the Walloon Parliament André Frédéric suggested that the two sides could set up a joint committee to discuss projects and issues of mutual interest. He said that in the 2022-2024 cooperation period, many areas have been implemented such as education, health, environment, etc. Next year, the two sides can review the effectiveness and continue to promote such cooperation projects.

According to the President of the Parliament André Frédéric, the Walloon region has many beautiful landscapes thanks to the poetic Meuse River flowing through it. However, currently, due to climate change, this river is "dying". He believes that this is a similar story that the Mekong River and the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam are facing. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the way cities and territories are planned, to find a way to balance economic development and respect for the environment, otherwise everything can be destroyed.

Delegates attending the meeting took a souvenir photo. (Source: People's Delegates)

The world has also gone through a period of the Covid-19 pandemic with many problems exposed, so President of the Walloon Region Parliament Andre Frederic shared that there needs to be a way to look back and manage the world in a different way, in which the relationship between people must be promoted, that is, solidarity and alliance between nations.

The President of the Walloon Region Parliament affirmed that with all the good feelings for the country and people of Vietnam, he personally, regardless of his position, will continue to promote the existing relationship between Vietnam and the Walloon Region.

Source