Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang has lauded diverse activities of the Association of Vietnamese Students in the European country over the past time.

Addressing a congress on June 1, the diplomat encouraged the students to contribute more to the homeland and promote Vietnam’s position in the world arena.

Trinh Hoang Khai, President of the association for 2017-2019, reviewed major achievements and activities carried out by Vietnamese students in Belgium over the past tenure.

The congress elected Pham Sy Hieu as the association’s President during the new term, who pledged to work harder to connect Vietnamese students in the country and join hands with the General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium to build a strong Vietnamese community.

About 200 Vietnamese students are living and studying in Belgium’s major cities like Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, Liege, Antwerp, Hasselt and Mons.

The event was co-hosted by the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam, the Belgian Development Agency and the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department of External Economic Affairs.

The sides reviewed important cooperation milestones since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1973.

Two-way trade hit 2.8 billion EUR (3.1 billion USD) in 2018 while Belgian investors have poured more than 900 million USD in Vietnam. Many Belgian firms have contributed to Vietnam’s sustainable development via building green industrial zones.

Bilateral collaboration between Vietnam and Belgium in the future will focus on education, agriculture and environment technology, it was heard at the seminar.

The two teams performed music espousing the beauty of the Han River in Da Nang and the Volga of Russia in the opening performance.

The fireworks festival – the 10th edition since 2008 – features teams from Russia, Brazil, Belgium, Finland, England, China, Italy and Vietnam lighting up the Han River from June 1 to July 7.

This year’s event, titled ‘Stories by the Rivers’, sees teams describing the beauty and culture of typical rivers in their countries during the month-long festival.

Teams come together for a pyrotechnic competition in five nights themed “Origin”, “Seed”, “Love”, “Colours” and “Going out to Sea”, broadcast live on Vietnam Television channel.

Brazil and Belgium will take the stage on June 8.

Three-time champions Italy and Finland will play the third night on June 15, while England and China will perform on June 22.

The top two teams will be selected for the final on July 6.

Last year, Italy’s Martarello clinched the title for the third time after winning in 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, the US team Melrose Pyrotechnics took first spot. Canada’s Davis Whysall took the top prize in 2008, while China’s Liuyang Dancing won in 2009. France’s Jacques Couturier Organisation won in 2010.

The Da Nang International Fireworks Festival was voted one of the 10 most impressive cultural events of 2018 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Professional skills training has been provided at 14 universities, three home affairs departments and three education and training departments across the country over the past four years.

The project, run by the Facility for Capacity Building (FCB), came to a close at a ceremony in Hà Nội on Friday.

Aiming to improve Vietnamese personnel, it was co-implemented by the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training MoET.

The project received 6.2 million euros (US$6.9 million) from the Belgium Government. MoET paid for office space and personnel.

Under the project, more than 2,000 officials, 42 per cent of whom were women, received training on management, educational assessment, technological transfer and personnel development via conferences, field trips and courses.

The project offers 27 scholarships for master training in Belgium.

Nguyễn Thị Toàn Thắng, deputy director of the Bình Thuận Department of Education and Training, said that the project supplied important support on information and technological transfer for Vietnamese human resources.

Đinh Thanh Hải, deputy principal of the Hà Nội University of Pharmacy, said the project had helped improve skills and knowledge in the sector for the university’s managers and lecturers.

It had provided a good foundation for the university in international integration, she said.

Following the project, the university would continue to run training courses based on national norms for pharmacists after graduation, said Hải.

— VNS