The King and Queen of Belgium successfully conclude their State visit to Vietnam

President Luong Cuong and his wife, along with King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Mathilde, visit the photo exhibition on bilateral relations produced by the Vietnam News Agency. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

At noon on April 4, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Kingdom of Belgium left Ho Chi Minh City, successfully concluding their State visit to Vietnam from March 31 to April 4, at the invitation of President Luong Cuong and his wife.

Seeing off the delegation at Tan Son Nhat International Airport were: Deputy Head of the Office of the President Phan Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, and Vietnamese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Nguyen Van Thao.

During their visit to Vietnam, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visited and laid flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; and laid wreaths at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs on Bac Son Street (Ba Dinh, Hanoi).

General Secretary To Lam received King Philippe. President Luong Cuong hosted a state-level welcoming ceremony, met and hosted King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with King Philippe.

At the receptions and meetings, the Vietnamese leaders welcomed the King and Queen and the high-ranking Belgian delegation to pay a State visit to Vietnam; highly appreciated the historical significance of the first State visit between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973; believed that the King's visit, accompanied by many high-ranking officials, business leaders, universities and research institutes, would create new momentum, bringing the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium into depth, practicality and effectiveness, meeting the interests of the people of the two countries, contributing responsibly to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region and the world.

The Vietnamese leaders thanked Belgium for passing the Belgian National Assembly's Resolution on supporting Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange; suggested that the two countries should further promote substantive cooperation in areas where Belgium has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as high technology, circular economy, strategic infrastructure, human resource training, etc.; at the same time, they asked Belgium to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and urge the EC to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood.

King Philippe of Belgium sincerely thanked the warm and respectful welcome of the high-ranking leaders and people of Vietnam; said that, with the similarity in geographical location in the center of Europe and Southeast Asia, the two sides need to promote cooperation to become gateways for each other in each region; agreed with the assessment of the Vietnamese leaders that the Vietnam-Belgium friendship over the past 50 years has developed very well and the two countries need to continue to cooperate closely to address global challenges such as climate change, environment, etc.

On this occasion, the leaders of the two countries witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents in the fields of culture, trade, climate change, and support for victims of Agent Orange.

During the visit to Vietnam of the King and Queen of Belgium, President Luong Cuong and his wife, along with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, visited the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, wife of President Luong Cuong, and Queen Mathilde visited the President Ho Chi Minh relic site in the Presidential Palace. Queen Mathilde visited the National Children's Hospital.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde also visited tourist, cultural and economic establishments in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nha-vua-va-hoang-hau-bi-ket-thuc-tot-dep-tham-cap-nha-nuoc-den-viet-nam-post1024795.vnp