Bringing Vietnam-Belgium relations to a higher level
Vietnam and Belgium have promoted bilateral cooperation in politics, economics, science and technology, culture and national defence, most notably in trade and investment.
On December 5, a high-ranking delegation of the National Assembly (NA) led by Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung started their official visit to Belgium at the invitation of the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Andre Flahaut.
The first visit to Europe by NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung aims to lift cooperative relations between Vietnam and Belgium to a higher level.
Vietnam and Belgium established diplomatic ties in 1973. Since Vietnam opened its embassy in Brussels in early 1991, bilateral cooperation has grown substantially.
The 2000-2008 period saw a rapid and steady growth in two-way trade turnover, from US$395.4 million in 2000 to US$1.369 billion in 2008. Vietnam was always in trade surplus in this period. However, two-way trade turnover has fallen in recent years, to just US$1.1-1.2 billion in 2009 and 2010 due to the impact of the global economic downturn. Up to September this year, two-way trade was estimated at nearly US$1.2 billion.
Belgium is currently Vietnam’s sixth biggest export market in the European Union (EU) after Germany, UK, the Netherlands, France and Spain. Vietnam’s exports to Belgium are mainly footwear, garments and textiles, seafood, coffee and bags, but also next in line are other items such as wood, rubber, plastic, stone and precious metal.
Vietnam’s imports from Belgium include machines, equipment, spare parts, iron and steel, chemicals and pharmaceuticals products.
Belgium ranks 38th among 91 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 39 projects capitalized at more than US$100 million of which more than three-quarters are allocated to industrial areas in southern cities and provinces.
Vietnam and Belgium started to implement cooperation and development agreements in 1977. Vietnam is the only Asian nation to receive the official development assistance (ODA) from Belgium.
From 2007-2010, Belgium provided Vietnam with US$37.5 million Euros in support of priority areas such as human resources development, water resource management, environmental protection and health care.
The European nation has carried out 20 small and medium-sized projects within the framework of the Vietnam-Belgium cooperation program for the 2007-2010 period to assist Vietnam in economic development and poverty reduction.
In the middle of this year, the Vietnam-Belgium Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation met in Hanoi for the first time under the agreement reached by the two sides during the Belgian Foreign Minister’s visit to Vietnam in 2009 with a view to promoting economic cooperation at government level.
NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung’s visit to Belgium is of great significance, showing the Party and State’s consistent external policy of strengthening relations with other countries as well as their wish to promote all-round cooperation with Belgium.