During the meeting, PM Phuc briefed his host on the results of his talks with Prime Minister Charles Michel and his discussions with leaders of the parliament, regions, and communities of Belgium.

Vietnam attributes importance to relations with Belgium, a founding member with an important role in the European Union (EU), Phuc said while affirming the country’s willingness to offer optimal conditions for Belgian enterprises to do business in Vietnam.

The PM voiced hope that the King and Queen of Belgium would visit Vietnam at an appropriate time in the future.

King Philippe welcomed the PM’s visit in conjunction with the 45th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. He was reminiscent of his first visit to Vietnam in 1994 and led delegations of Belgian enterprises to the country to set up connectivity and carry out projects to improve the lives of local residents in the Mekong Delta.

The King held that he always greatly values ties with Vietnam and pays heed to Vietnam’s efforts to cope with climate change, saying that Belgium stays ready to transfer technologies to Vietnam to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Both sides echoed their views that bilateral ties are growing steadily across a wide range of fields, especially in economics, trade, and investment, as demonstrated by nearly 70 successful projects in Vietnam.

They also suggested advancing bilateral collaboration in fields of Belgium’s strength and Vietnam’s demand such as high-tech agriculture, green technology, renewable energy, healthcare, and education-training.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly of growing ties between Vietnam and the Flanders region of Belgium during a reception in Brussels on October 17 for the regional Minister-President Geert Bourgeois.

Belgium’s lower house of parliament backs expanding cooperation with Vietnam at all levels, said President of the Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke when meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Brussels on October 17.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shakes hands with Belgian President of the Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke in their meeting in Brussels on October 17.

At the meeting, both Phuc and Bracke expressed their delight at the development of the Vietnam – Belgium relations over the 45 years of their ties.

The Vietnamese Prime Minister thanked the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for its support in deepening the two countries’ relations, saying the partnership between the two parliaments has played a vital role in enhancing bilateral ties.

Bracke hailed Phuc’s visit as significant to fostering relations and lauded the Vietnamese community in Belgium and their contributions to the ties. He welcomed strengthened collaboration between the two nations in agriculture as it suits both countries’ needs.

Both sides agreed Vietnam and Belgium should work to fulfil their cooperation potential, especially in education, science-technology, maritime transport and clean energy.

Bracke also voiced his support for the early signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), saying it will benefit all parties as it creates an engine to bolster cooperation between Vietnam and EU countries in economics and trade.

The two sides also agreed that all concerned nations must work to maintain peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea and settle disputes via peaceful means in respect of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is on the final leg of his visit to Belgium from October 16 – 18, being made at the invitation of his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel.

On the occasion of the visit, the two side issued a joint statement, stressing the importance of promoting trade and investment between Vietnam and Belgium and expressed their hope that the EVFTA will soon be signed and ratified.

They agreed to step up bilateral ties in diplomacy, economics, social affairs, trade, education and science and to maintain regular exchanges.

Belgium was among the first Western countries to set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, in 1973.

Belgium is now Vietnam’s seventh largest trade partner in the EU, with two-way trade reaching US$2.7 billion last year. As of August 2018, Belgium’s investment in the country was valued at US$900 million.

VOV- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had working sessions with representatives from EU and Belgian leading firms operating in Vietnam on October 17 as part of his official visit to Belgium.

During the meetings, they informed the Vietnamese leader on outcomes and investment and business plans in the Southeast Asian nation in such fields as oil and gas, renewable energy, agriculture, fertiliser and insecticide production, seaport infrastructure, rubber, and tire production.

They also made recommendations on how to accelerate cooperation between the business communities of Vietnam and the EU, as well as between those of Vietnam and Belgium in particular.

Earlier, on October 16, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received leaders of Solveigh and Nijhuis – the Dutch businesses with experience in anti-erosion, water exploitation and use and carrying out a climate change adaptation project in central Vietnam.

The PM hailed Solveigh and Nijhuis as well as other Dutch partners in conducting surveys, research and working solutions to minimise coastal erosion in Vietnam. He described their work as a specific action to implement cooperation programmes within the framework of the strategic partnership on adaptation to climate change and water management between Vietnam and the Netherlands.

Menno Holterman, Managing Director of Nijhuis, said the project’s partners inspected erosion in Hoi An and agreed to carry out another project to address challenges in the area. It aims to improve safety and livelihood for locals, and protect and restore Hoi An coast, while forming new eco-system tourist sites there. Investment for this will be arranged by European and Dutch organisations and businesses and Vietnam’s T&T group.

Representatives of the two Dutch groups expressed their wish to continue receiving attention and facilitation from the Prime Minister and relevant agencies of Vietnam during the project’s implementation.

Welcoming proposals of Dutch organisations and businesses, PM Phuc said the Vietnamese Government hopes for experience sharing and support on human resources and technology from the Dutch partners to solve urgent issues in Vietnam, especially coastal and riverbank erosion and subsidence, climate change response, and help local people’s sustainable socio-economic development.

The PM suggested Dutch and Vietnamese partners coordinate with the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province to accelerate the study and survey to have an optimal plan.

The two Dutch groups, T&T group and other partners were asked to work with Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Quang Nam authorities to reach an implementation plan.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Vietnamese Government and the administration of Belgium’s Flemish region on October 17 as part of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the European country, confirming the increasingly extensive cooperation between the two sides.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Geert Bourgeois

In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Brussels, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Geert Bourgeois said that the MoU signing came after the first deal inked in 2013, underlining the long-term partnership between Vietnam and Belgium in general and the Flemish Region in particular.

Praising Vietnam’s economic development in the past 30 years, with an impressive GDP growth of 6-7 percent per year, he said that Vietnam should continue updating its international frameworks to attract more foreign investors, which will help Vietnamese firms better integrate into the global value chain.

The Belgian Government will continue to support the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) which promotes free and fair trade towards sustainable growth among its members, he stressed, expressing his belief that the EVFTA and the freshly-inked MoU are expected to help the Flemish region to double its exports to Vietnam to 1 billion EUR (about US$1.16 billion) over the next three years.

Vietnam is currently the fourth largest export market of Flanders in Southeast Asia. Around 70-80 percent of Belgian shipments to Vietnam come from the region. Last year, Flanders shipped 492 million EUR (nearly US$570 million)  worth of products to Vietnam, up 22.23 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s exports to the region surged some 20.86 percent and the figure is expected to rise even further in the future.

In recent times, Vietnamese localities and the Flemish region have enjoyed fruitful cooperation, especially relating to transportation and the environment. Flanders invested 4.4 million EUR (around US$5.1 million) in joint research programmes of the Research Founderation: Flanders (FWO), and Vietnam’s National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), he added.