At the meeting with President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose, who is visiting Vietnam from August 21-25, recalling his good impressions of his visit to Belgium, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the visit is of great significance in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the strategic partnership on agriculture; he said that the Vietnamese Government attaches great importance to strengthening increasingly deep, substantive and effective relations with the Kingdom of Belgium - a founding member and an important voice in the European Union.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose.
In the coming time, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that the two sides continue to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones; closely coordinate at multilateral and international forums, especially on issues of mutual concern such as conflict prevention, peacekeeping , climate change, etc.
In particular, the two sides need to make the most of the advantages of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), striving to bring trade turnover to 7 billion USD in the next 2-3 years; request Belgium to continue creating conditions for Vietnamese seafood, traditional agricultural products such as rice, coffee and seasonal agricultural products, garments, footwear, and electronics to enter the Belgian and EU markets.
The Prime Minister also asked the Belgian Senate to push for the Belgian Federal Parliament to soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create a favorable investment environment for businesses of the two countries; support and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the EC's IUU yellow card warning for Vietnamese seafood products.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked and asked Belgium to continue to care for, support and help Vietnamese victims of dioxin.
Appreciating Belgium's ODA provision to Vietnam, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides continue to cooperate in key areas, new areas, renewable energy, digital transformation, digital economy, innovation, green economy, and circular economy.
Along with that, he proposed that Belgium support Vietnam in developing circular agriculture, smart agriculture and implementing the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period towards sustainable development, environmental friendliness, and adaptation to climate change; study and establish a tripartite cooperation mechanism between Vietnam, Belgium and African partners to respond to food security issues.
The Prime Minister thanked and requested the Belgian Government and Senate to continue to pay attention and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese citizens to live, work and study stably in Belgium, contributing to promoting the role of a bridge between the two countries; requested the Belgian side to consider increasing the number of postgraduate scholarships for Vietnam, especially in areas where Belgium has strengths such as transport infrastructure, environment, tourism, etc.
Vietnam asked Belgium to increase support in resources, finance, institution building and human resource training to implement commitments at COP26, and to have specific projects to help Vietnam respond to climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta region in green development and combating saltwater intrusion.
President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose highly agreed with the Prime Minister's opinion; expressed her appreciation for the warm sentiments and solemn welcome of the Vietnamese side in general and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in particular.
Ms. Stéphanie D'Hose expressed her impression of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements, role and position in the international arena, and Vietnam's integration in recent times, emphasizing that Vietnam is a country with high attractiveness in the world, many Belgian companies are very interested in the Vietnamese market.
President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose said that the Belgian Federal Parliament is actively taking steps to strive to ratify the EVIPA before Belgium ends its term as President of the Council of the European Union.
The Chairwoman affirmed that the Belgian Senate will strive to promote the Vietnam-Belgium relationship to develop more deeply and widely through many specific actions, programs and projects, including the areas mentioned by the Prime Minister, especially in innovation, trade development, supply chain linkage and support for Vietnamese dioxin victims.
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