The visit demonstrates the special sentiment of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde towards Vietnam, as the King had previously visited Vietnam three times as the crown prince in 1994, 2003, and 2012. Queen Mathilde visited Vietnam in 2023 in her capacity as Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium.
    |
 |
|
(Photo for illustration: VNA) |
Belgium is a founding member of the E.U., strategically located in the heart of Europe. It is home to the headquarters of 1,100 international organizations, 600 international news agencies, 400 diplomatic representative agencies, and 1,700 representatives of international and European companies. Belgium ranks 24th in the world and 8th in the E.U. in gross domestic product (GDP). It serves as a center for the distribution and transit of goods in Europe. These advantages strengthen Belgium's role and status in the E.U. and on the international stage.
Vietnam and Belgium established diplomatic ties on March 22, 1973. Over the past half-century, the friendship and bilateral relations between the two countries have continued to develop positively. In terms of politics and diplomacy, both countries have regularly maintained exchanges of delegations and high-level and all-level contacts.
Both sides have effectively implemented various frameworks and cooperation mechanisms, including the Vietnam-Belgium Joint Committee on Economics, the Vietnam-Wallonia-Brussels Permanent Joint Committee, the Deputy Foreign Minister-level political consultations, and the Vietnam-Belgium Joint Committee on Science and Technology.
The two counties have closely coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums and mechanisms, including the U.N. In October 2023, the Belgian House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting Agent Orange victims in Vietnam. This marked the first time a foreign parliament had passed such a resolution, contributing to raising the international community’s attention and call for support for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.
In terms of economy, trade, investment, Belgium is Vietnam’s 6th largest export market in Europe, and Vietnam is Belgium’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. Belgium currently has 100 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 1.1 billion USD, focusing on maritime transport, logistics services, and renewable energy, while Vietnam has 4 investment projects in Belgium in the manufacturing and processing industries, with a total investment of 12.6 million USD.
As part of the strategic partnership in agriculture established in 2018, the two countries have been implementing many technical cooperation programs between agricultural universities and research institutes; developing a waterway logistics system to support the export of agricultural products from Vietnam to Europe; promoting the implementation of smart cold logistics chains and collaboration in cocoa industry and food safety. Cooperation in other areas such as defense, security, culture, education and training, and local cooperation has been actively promoted by both sides and has yielded positive results.
Based on the good friendship and cooperation between the two sides, the visit of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium demonstrates Belgium’s special regard for Vietnam and the role and position of Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region.
The visit also provides an opportunity for Vietnam to reaffirm its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism and diversification of international relations, as well as its active international integration. We are confident that the visit will be a great success, contributing to strengthening political trust, further boosting bilateral cooperation, and lifting Vietnam-Belgium relations to a new phase of development.
Translated by Quynh Oanh