Welcoming D’Hose on her official visit to Vietnam from August 21-25, Hue said the Senate President is the highest-ranking official of Belgium to visit the Southeast Asian country in 2023 as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 5th anniversary of their strategic partnership in agriculture.

Both leaders highly valued their countries’ cooperation and friendship, noting that the two sides are holding numerous activities to celebrate 50 years of their diplomatic relations.

They considered the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is being enforced, is an achievement of economic cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, including Belgium.

Hue called on Belgium to create optimal conditions for Vietnamese goods, especially rice and coffee, to access the Belgium and EU markets.

D’Hose suggested Vietnam provide favourable visa-related conditions for citizens of Belgium and other EU member nations. In response, Hue said that at its recent 5th session, the Vietnamese NA approved a law on important amendments to the visa policy for foreigners.

Regarding development cooperation, the host leader thanked Belgium for its assistance to Vietnam and asked the two sides to keep collaboration in such focal areas as clean agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy, and green economy via the Belgian Government’s preferential credit package Finexpo, in line with both sides’ conditions and interests.

He suggested Belgium provide support in terms of resources, finance, institutional building, and manpower training for Vietnam; and help the Southeast Asian country promote sustainable development, circular economy, environmental protection and climate change response, especially during the realisation of the commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

At the talks, both sides highly appreciated the importance of the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). Hue called on the Belgian Federal Parliament to speed up the process of ratifying the EVIPA. D'Hose said that the Belgian Federal Parliament is pushing for the ratification process of the agreement, which is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024.

Hue also proposed the Belgian Federal Parliament push the European Commission to soon remove its illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) yellow card warning against Vietnamese seafood.

He affirmed that Vietnamese authorities are actively implementing solutions to sustainably exploit aquatic resources for the country’s benefit.

Both sides highly appreciated the two countries' establishment of a strategic partnership in the agricultural sector and wished to deepen the relationship with the establishment of a food supply chain. The NA Chairman suggested the two countries cooperate to improve their capacity to ensure hygiene, animal and plant quarantine, and the quality of goods following EU technical standards.

Vietnam welcomes Belgian businesses to invest in the Southeast Asian country in the fields of green and sustainable development, maintaining existing supply chains, and developing new supply chains in which the two sides have strengths, he said.

D'Hose said that the Belgian side will coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam to organise a seminar to promote agricultural cooperation within the framework of the two countries’ strategic cooperation in agriculture in October this year.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, the two leaders assessed that the cooperation relationship between the Vietnamese NA and the Belgian Federal Parliament in general, and the Senate in particular, has developed well, been implemented at all levels, and achieved positive results.

Hue hoped the Belgian Federal Parliament to share experience with the Vietnamese legislative body on building legal institutions related to digital transformation and just energy transition.

The two sides agreed to increase the exchanges of high-level delegations and delegations of committees, the two countries' friendship parliamentary groups, female parliamentarians, and young parliamentarians. They agreed to promote the mechanism of consultation and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums; coordinate in promoting the implementation of sustainable development goals and the agreements that the two Governments signed. They will also further support and promote cooperation between localities and the business communities of the two countries.

D'Hose told the host that a resolution is expected to be approved by the Belgian Chamber of Representatives on support for victims of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam. The resolution will call on the Belgian Government to promote efforts to provide more aid to Vietnamese AO victims, and to support the Vietnamese Government in helping them.

This resolution is being consulted, and expected to be ratified in October 2023, she said, adding that the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group is very interested in this document.

Belgium is willing to cooperate and share experience and knowledge in researching and producing dioxin detoxification technology, she affirmed.

Appreciating Belgium’s move, Hue said that Vietnam would like to thank the support of the international community, including Belgium, to help Vietnam detoxify dioxin and support victims.

At the talks, the two leaders exchanged views on cooperation in education and training; and agreed to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living in Belgium, and maintain effective coordination at multilateral and international forums such as the United Nations, the International Organisation of La Francophonie, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Sharing outstanding results in socio-economic development, especially in sustainable poverty reduction, new-style rural area building, and human rights, the Vietnamese top legislator welcomed Belgium and EU countries to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with Vietnam in these fields for mutual benefits, and support each other when Vietnam and Belgium are both members of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023 – 2025 term.

Hue took this occasion to invite the Belgian Senate and Chamber of Representatives to send a delegation to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians to be held in Vietnam in September. The President of the Belgian Senate confirmed that Belgium will send a delegation to Vietnam to attend this event.

After the talks, the two sides signed a letter of intent on cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the Belgian Parliament.

On August 21 evening, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will host a banquet in honour of Senate President Stephanie D'Hose and the Belgian delegation.

The Vietnamese Government attaches importance to enhancing a deeper, substantial, and effective relationship with Belgium - a founding member with a significant voice within the European Union, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose during a meeting in Hanoi on August 21.

D'Hose is on an official visit to Vietnam from August 21-25 at the invitation of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

PM Chinh hailed her visit on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of strategic partnership in agriculture.

According to him, Belgium is always among Vietnam's top trade partners within the EU while Vietnam is the biggest ASEAN trade partner of Belgium. Last year, two-way trade reached 4.73 billion USD.

D'Hose wished that via the visit, Belgian Federal Parliament and the Vietnamese NA would set up a higher level of cooperation in order to reinforce friendship and links between the two countries, including the consideration of measures to remove trade barriers and foster collaboration in technology and innovation.

She also hoped that Vietnam would issue favourable visa policies to make it easier for Belgian citizens and businesses to enter the country.

In reply, PM Chinh said since August 15, Vietnam has officially granted a 45-day visa exemption to citizens of certain countries entering the country, adding that he takes note of Belgium's proposal and will continue hastening this work.

To improve political trust and deepen bilateral coordination, he suggested both sides increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially those at high level. He called for close liaison at multilateral and international forums, particularly on issues of mutual concern such as conflict prevention, peacekeeping and climate change response.

In his view, both sides should maximise the advantages of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and strive to achieve a trade turnover of 7 billion USD in the next 2-3 years. He asked Belgium to continue facilitating the entry of Vietnamese traditional aquatic and agricultural products such as rice, coffee, and seasonal produce into the Belgian and EU markets.

The host also proposed the Belgian Senate accelerate the early approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the Belgian Federal Parliament, as well as the European Commission’s early removal of the yellow card warning against Vietnamese aquatic products.

Expressing appreciation for Belgium's supply of ODA to Vietnam, the PM proposed further joint work in key areas such as clean agriculture, renewable energy, digital economy, green economy, and circular economy.

He also asked Belgium to assist Vietnam in developing circular agriculture and smart agriculture, and implementing the National Strategy for Green Growth for 2021-2030, focusing on sustainable, eco-friendly and climate-adaptive development. Additionally, he suggested studying the establishment of a trilateral cooperation mechanism involving Vietnam, Belgium, and an African partner to address food security concerns.

As one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, Vietnam proposes that Belgium increase its support in terms of resources, finance, institutional building, and human resources training to fulfill commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), as well as outline specific projects to help the country cope with climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta, with a focus on green development and saltwater intrusion combat, he said.

On the occasion, he suggested Belgium consider increasing the number of postgraduate scholarships for Vietnam, especially in areas where Belgium has strength, such as transportation infrastructure, environment and tourism.

Agreeing with the PM’s proposals, the Belgian guest said both sides need to continue expanding exchanges and dialogues at all levels across various fields, with a particular focus on intensifying high-level exchanges to further broaden bilateral relationship.

She said the Belgian Federal Parliament is actively taking steps for the EVIPA ratification before June 9, 2024 when Belgium concludes its presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Belgium is also ready to assist Vietnam in energy transition, agriculture, and addressing the consequences of chemical/dioxin contamination, he said.

On global and regional issues of shared concern, the PM proposed the European country back ASEAN's and Vietnam’s stance on the East Sea issue, including ensuring safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, settling disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), toward formulating an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Source: VNA