He also requested that the Belgian Parliament lobby the European Commission to soon lift the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) “yellow card” imposed on Vietnamese seafood exports to the European bloc in an effort to boost bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation.

Man made the request during his meeting with the Speaker of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Peter De Roover, and the President of the Belgian Senate, Vincent Blondel, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on April 6 on the sidelines of the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150).

He highly appreciated the success of the recent State visit to Vietnam by the King and Queen of Belgium, and shared that he had a courtesy meeting with King Philippe to discuss future directions for bilateral relations.

The Belgian parliamentary leaders affirmed that the King and Queen were pleased with their State visit to Vietnam, considering it a significant step that opens a bright future for the two countries’ relations.

They emphasised that many Belgian parliamentarians are close friends of Vietnam who maintain deep bonds - an important foundation for further strengthening bilateral cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Belgian Parliament.

At the meeting, both sides agreed that parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium has been effectively implemented at all levels, with many high-level meetings and exchanges. They agreed to coordinate the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Belgian Parliament to further deepen the bilateral and legislative partnership.

Man appreciated the Belgian Parliament’s adoption of a resolution supporting Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and expressed hope that Belgium would soon initiate practical, concrete projects to implement this resolution. He also encouraged the Belgian Parliament to promote similar resolutions among other EU member parliaments.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, stressing the need to strengthen coordination in contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world at large.

On this occasion, Man extended a cordial invitation to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President of Belgium to visit Vietnam in the near future.

NA Chairman calls for joint efforts to build sustainable world at IPU-150

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on all parliamentarians and nations to take stronger action together to build a just, prosperous, and sustainable world, while addressing a high-level segment of the general debate of the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) in Tashkent on April 6.