On the afternoon of November 6, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Karl Van Den Bossche – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium in Vietnam on the occasion of receiving a working mission in Vietnam.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to relations with Belgium, expressing his wish that during his tenure, the Ambassador will continue to make active contributions to the development of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Vietnam. South and Belgium, especially in the context of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1973-2023) and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership in the agricultural sector (2018-2023) in 2023.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked the Government and people of Belgium for providing 100,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine to Vietnam, considering this a respectful gesture in the relationship between the two countries. The Prime Minister highly appreciated the positive developments in the relationship between Vietnam and Belgium over the past time in all fields, especially politics-diplomacy, trade, agriculture, etc., both at the federal, regional and community levels. community, despite facing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister suggested that the two countries strengthen the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level to discuss specific measures to strengthen multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium.
The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction at the positive growth of bilateral trade turnover over the past time, reaching USD 3.3 billion in the first eight months of 2022 and many Belgian businesses making effective investments in Vietnam in the past year. shipping, logistics, renewable energy…
The Prime Minister asked Belgium to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s strong agricultural products to access the Belgian market and wanted businesses of the two countries to continue to cooperate closely and take advantage of opportunities from the Free Trade Agreement. Vietnam – EU (EVFTA) aims to promote bilateral trade and investment. The Prime Minister also suggested that Belgium soon ratify the Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), prompting the European Commission to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood products.
The Prime Minister suggested the two countries continue to cooperate and support each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, especially at the United Nations, ASEM, Francophone, ASEAN-EU, etc. ASEAN-EU Summit in mid-December in Belgium.
The Ambassador affirmed that during his term, he will make every effort to contribute to further promoting the Vietnam-Belgium cooperation in the fields of Belgium’s strengths and Vietnam’s needs such as sustainable agriculture and economy. digitalization, green development, energy transformation… and will closely coordinate with ministries, agencies and sectors to organize activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Karl Van Den Bossche affirmed that he attaches great importance to strengthening bilateral economic – trade – investment relations and will promote Belgian businesses to invest more and more effectively in Vietnam.
The Ambassador emphasized that the Belgian side will work closely with relevant ministries and branches of Vietnam to successfully organize the Vietnam-Belgium Economic and Political Consultative Joint Committee in mid-November. This is an opportunity to further promote multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law. including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.