Strengthening parliamentary relations between Vietnam, the EU and Belgium

From September 15-17, 2025, the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation led by Comrade Nguyen Thi Thanh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice President of the National Assembly, visited and worked in the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union (EU), opening up new opportunities for parliamentary, economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium and the EU.

The visit takes place in the context of positive development of Vietnam – EU and Vietnam – Belgium relations, especially after recent State visits between the two sides.

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation visited the Belgian Senate headquarters. Photo: Huong Giang/VNA

According to VNA correspondent in Brussels, on the morning of September 17, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh had a working session with Vice President of the European Parliament (EP) Younous Omarjee.

Expressing his joy at welcoming the Vice President of the National Assembly and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation, the EP Vice President expressed his affection for Vietnam and highly appreciated the positive developments in the Vietnam-EU comprehensive partnership and cooperation relationship. He also said that as a French citizen, he was very happy that Vietnam and France had upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the official visit of General Secretary To Lam to France in October 2024 and the State visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Vietnam in May 2025.

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh affirmed that the EU is an important partner in Vietnam's foreign policy, highly appreciating the good cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the EP in the spirit of cooperation and construction, the two sides maintaining an effective parliamentary dialogue channel on the basis of the Cooperation Agreement signed in 2010, the first bilateral parliamentary cooperation document that the EP signed with a Southeast Asian country. The Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly expressed her belief that with the two sides discussing upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and with joint efforts, Vietnam and the EU will continue to write a successful cooperation story in the coming time.

In the context of the current complicated world situation, the two sides agreed to continue to give high priority to strongly promoting cooperation, focusing on the fields of trade and investment, including the effective implementation of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), strengthening cooperation in the EU's strengths such as science - technology, innovation, green transformation, digital transformation, training of high-quality human resources, increasing investment in Vietnam in high-tech projects, transport infrastructure, environment, etc.

On this occasion, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh asked the EP to promote the completion of the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and asked the EU to have a widespread voice in support of resolving disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means, in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly conveyed the invitation of President Tran Thanh Man to EP President Roberta Metsola and Vice Chairman Younous Omarjee to officially visit Vietnam at a suitable time.
Previously, on September 16, at the headquarters of the Belgian Senate, Vice President Nguyen Thi Thanh held talks with First Vice President of the Belgian Federal Senate, Andries Gryffoy.

Welcoming Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation to Belgium, the Vice President of the Belgian Senate expressed his admiration for Vietnam's recent achievements in economic, social and foreign affairs development, and thanked Vietnam for its appreciation of Belgium's role. Mr. Andries Gryffoy said that the visit not only strengthens the relationship between the two legislative bodies but also contributes to promoting the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium; affirming that the Belgian Senate in particular and the Belgian Parliament in general are always interested in and ready to strengthen cooperation with the Vietnamese National Assembly.

Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh and First Vice President of the Belgian Federal Senate Andries Gryffoy both assessed that bilateral cooperation has a lot of potential and room for development, especially in the fields of trade and investment, focusing on sectors that Belgium has strengths and Vietnam has demand for, such as smart seaports, high technology, healthcare, agriculture and energy. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation through parliamentary channels, promote delegation exchanges at all levels, create conditions for parliamentarians to meet and interact with the Federal Parliament, regional legislatures and language communities of Belgium. On the basis of the Parliamentary Cooperation Agreement signed in February 2025, the two sides will share experiences in areas of mutual interest, such as decentralization, delegation of power between levels of government, administrative reform, law-making and promoting gender equality.

Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh asked the Belgian Parliament to soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement, thanked the Belgian House of Representatives for passing the Resolution on Vietnamese dioxin victims, contributing to promoting the international community's attention, and asked the Belgian Parliament to promote projects for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam. The Vice President asked Belgian parliamentarians to pay attention to and support policies that create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Belgium to integrate well into local society.

On this occasion, Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh invited First Vice President of the Belgian Federal Senate Andries Gryffoy, and the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group to visit Vietnam.

On the same evening, Vice President Nguyen Thi Thanh and her delegation visited the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium and the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU, offered incense to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh and met with officials and staff. The Vice President sent warm regards from the Party, State and National Assembly leaders, highly appreciated the efforts of Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao and the staff in promoting Vietnam's relations with the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, and suggested that they continue to promote their sense of responsibility, intelligence, courage and professionalism, contributing to bringing Vietnam closer to the world, deepening relations with other countries and serving the cause of national development.

The visit and working visit to Belgium and the EU by Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh and the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation affirmed the commitment to promoting parliamentary, economic and foreign cooperation, opening up new opportunities for the sustainable development of Vietnam-Belgium and Vietnam-EU relations in the coming time.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/gan-ket-quan-he-nghi-vien-giua-viet-nam-voi-eu-va-bi-20250917201832533.htm