This proposal was made during his meeting on April 1 in Hanoi with King Philippe of Belgium, who is on a state visit to Vietnam.

During the meeting, the Party chief welcomed the King, Queen, and the high-ranking Belgian delegation to Vietnam, emphasizing the historic significance of this first-ever state visit between the two nations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1973.

He expressed confidence that the visit, accompanied by senior officials, business leaders, university representatives, and research institutes, will add fresh impetus to deepening the Vietnam-Belgium friendship and all-around cooperation in a substantive and effective manner, benefiting both nations and contributing responsibly to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the wider world.

General Secretary To Lam highly appreciated the King and Queen’s important contributions to Belgium’s political and social affairs, particularly in maintaining national unity amidst diversity. He also expressed his deep gratitude for Belgium’s invaluable support for Vietnam’s past struggle for national independence, as well as the King and Queen’s personal goodwill and contributions toward Vietnam-Belgium relations.

He noted with satisfaction the positive development of Vietnam-Belgium relations, marked by increasing political trust that lays the groundwork for enhanced cooperation across all fields. To further realize the potential and strong political ties, he stressed the need for both countries to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, sustainable agriculture, high-quality human resource training, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. He also underscored the importance of bolstering co-operation in science and technology, innovation, and sharing Belgium’s university-based business development models to help Vietnam achieve its development goals by 2030 and 2045.

King Philippe expressed his sincere appreciation for the warm and respectful reception from General Secretary To Lam, Vietnam’s senior leaders, and the Vietnamese people. Highlighting the geographical similarities between Belgium, located at the heart of Europe, and Vietnam, situated in Southeast Asia, he emphasized the need for both nations to step up cooperation to serve as gateways to their respective regions. He agreed with the General Secretary’s assessment of the strong and fruitful Vietnam-Belgium relations over the past 50 years and stressed the importance of continued cooperation in dealing with global challenges such as climate change and environmental protection.

The host leader acknowledged the valuable contributions of Vietnamese professionals trained in Belgium, who have significantly impacted Vietnam’s governance and economy. He emphasized the importance of facilitating travel and trade for citizens of both countries and urged Belgium to ratify the EVIPA promptly, which will pave the way for a new wave of investment from the EU and Belgium into Vietnam and vice versa.

He also shared with King Philippe Vietnam’s nearly 40-year achievements in renewal and socio-economic development, which have been supported by the international community, enabling the country to leapfrog in development.

Vietnam is now among the world's 35 largest economies and ranks among the top 20 trading nations. King Philippe expressed admiration for Vietnam’s remarkable industrialization and modernization progress, while recalling his four visits to the country, with the first in 1994. He also took pride in Belgium’s contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic growth.

The Belgian King concurred with General Secretary To Lam’s proposal to increase delegation exchanges and high-level meetings, strengthen bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and expand cooperation in potential sectors such as education and training, defence, security, renewable energy, including wind turbines and green hydrogen, healthcare, and environmental protection, including addressing the consequences of Agent Orange, an area where Belgium has expertise.

The Party chief reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment as a responsible member of the international community, particularly in maintaining regional peace, stability, and cooperation, including in the East Sea (South China Sea). Both leaders agreed on the need for Vietnam and Belgium to work closely together at international and regional forums to promote multilateralism, uphold the rule of law, and fulfill international responsibilities in tackling regional and global challenges.

Vietnam welcomes King Philippe of Belgium on State visit

VOV.VN - State President Luong Cuong and his spouse hosted a welcome ceremony in Hanoi on April 1 for King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who are on a state visit to Vietnam from March 31 to April 4.

Belgium, Vietnam enhance parliamentary cooperation

VOV.VN - A delegation of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee led by its member and Chairman of the NA Committee for Culture and Education Nguyen Dac Vinh paid a working visit to Belgium from December 4-7, with a view to fostering and deepening the bilateral friendship.