Vietnamese, Belgian parliaments look to cement connections

NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu made the remark while meeting with Isabella Emmery, Vice President of the Parliament of the Federation Wallonie-Brussels, on June 27. The meeting was part of his working visit to Belgium and the European Union (EU) from June 25 – 29. 

The guest rejoiced at the intensive and comprehensive development of Vietnamese – Belgian relations in every aspect and at the federal, regional and community levels. 

Reiterating Vietnam’s consistent policy of enhancing the relationship with Belgium, an important EU partner of Vietnam, Luu highly valued regular political meetings and high-ranking visits between the two nations. 

He also informed the host about the outcomes of the recent election of the 14th NA in Vietnam, noting that Vietnam has had a NA Chairwoman for the first time. Meanwhile, the rate of female NA deputies and the educational level of the new legislators in the 14th tenure are higher than in the past. 

Luu thanked the Belgian Federal Parliament and the Wallonie-Brussels parliament for providing non-refundable aid for Vietnam. He stressed that the assistance has been used effectively in such fields as clean water supply, education, State management, institution reinforcement, and health care. 

Cooperation between Vietnam and Wallonie-Brussels has been increasing recently, especially in education – training. Funded by Belgium’s French-speaking community, projects in language and manpower training, and scientific research capacity improvement in Vietnamese universities have proved fruitful, he added. 

The Vietnamese NA Vice Chairman asked the parliament and government of Wallonie-Brussels to strengthen this partnership to help foster Vietnam’s education. 

He also voiced his hope for stronger parliamentary connections between the two sides. He took this occasion to invite the President and Vice President of the Parliament of Federation Wallonie-Brussels to visit Vietnam in the near future. 

For her part, Isabelle Emmery applauded the outcomes of the general election in Vietnam, adding that the Federation Wallonie-Brussels parliament and the Vietnamese NA can bolster ties in official training and environmental management. 

As Vietnam is a member of the Francophone community, Wallonie-Brussels looks forward to working together with the Southeast Asian nation in drafting and exchanging documents written in French, she said. 

The French-speaking community in Belgium will expand training assistance by offering scholarships for Vietnamese postgraduates, she said, noting that the region is also ready to share experiences in climate change response and urban transport management. 

Later on June 27, NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu met with the Vietnamese Embassy staff and representatives of overseas Vietnamese in Belgium.