The invitations extended by the European Council President and the Belgian Prime Minister to General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse underscore the importance they attach to Viet Nam’s position and role, as well as to its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with their respective partners. They also reflect the special regard for Viet Nam's top leader and for the country’s development orientation and potential.
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(Photo for illustration: baochinhphu.vn) |
Viet Nam and the E.U. officially established diplomatic relations on November 28, 1990. Their ties were elevated directly to a comprehensive strategic partnership, bypassing the strategic partnership framework, during European Council President Antonio Costa’s official visit to Viet Nam in January 2026. This dual-level upgrade has made Viet Nam the first partner in Southeast Asia to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with the E.U. and the only ASEAN member state with cooperation spanning all pillars of engagement with the bloc. The E.U. regards Viet Nam as a priority partner in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific and has actively strengthened ties with the country at both the E.U.-wide level and through its member states.
Two-way trade between Viet Nam and the E.U. exceeded 73.81 billion USD in 2025, up 7.9% from 2024. In the first six months of this year, bilateral trade maintained positive growth, reaching 41.44 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%. The E.U. is Viet Nam’s fourth-largest trading partner, third-largest export market and sixth-largest import market. Viet Nam is the E.U.’s largest trading partner within ASEAN and ranks among the bloc’s top 10 suppliers of goods. E.U. investment in Viet Nam totals 38.4 billion USD, making the bloc the country’s sixth-largest source of foreign investment. Viet Nam, in turn, has 98 investment projects in the E.U. The two sides maintain delegation exchanges and intensify high-level contacts, while holding annual meetings of the Viet Nam-E.U. Joint Committee and its subordinate subcommittees. Cooperation in science, technology and innovation is emerging as a new pillar of engagement between Viet Nam and many E.U. member states.
Viet Nam and Belgium established diplomatic relations on March 22, 1973, and have maintained excellent traditional friendship ever since. The two sides regularly exchange high-level visits and engage with each other at multilateral forums. Notably, the Belgian Federal Chamber of Representatives was the first and remains the only foreign parliament to adopt a resolution calling for support for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange. Belgium is Viet Nam’s sixth-largest trading partner within the E.U., while Viet Nam is Belgium’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.
Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Belgium exceeded 3 billion USD in the first eight months of this year. As of the end of 2025, Belgium had 104 investment projects in Viet Nam. The two countries established a strategic partnership framework for agriculture in 2018. Cooperation in defense, security, education and training, science and technology, and development assistance has been a bright spot in bilateral relations.
Relations between Viet Nam and the E.U. and Belgium are now facing a strategic opportunity for comprehensive elevation, marking a turning point toward more substantive and effective cooperation. This opportunity is underpinned by strong political determination on all sides, shared strategic orientations, and favorable international and domestic conditions.
With the E.U., General Secretary and President To Lam’s visit is expected to further deepen science and technology cooperation, positioning the bloc as one of Viet Nam’s leading partners in this field, particularly in space, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), green technology and critical minerals. The visit is also expected to inject fresh momentum into trade and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the E.U. and its member nations, while helping establish Viet Nam-E.U. relations as a model for ASEAN-E.U. cooperation.
With Belgium, the visit is expected to elevate the bilateral relations to a new level after nearly a decade of the two countries’ strategic partnership in agriculture. It will also seek breakthroughs in areas where Belgium has strengths, including science and technology, semiconductor chips, renewable energy, AI and green agriculture. In addition, the two sides aim to maximize their roles as gateways for each other’s goods to enter the E.U. and ASEAN markets, while positioning Viet Nam as a regional hub for cooperation, production and distribution of Belgian products in Southeast Asia.
The visit provides an opportunity for Viet Nam to implement its foreign policy in line with the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and resolutions adopted by the Politburo. It will also strengthen personal ties between General Secretary and President To Lam and the leadership of the E.U. and Belgium, while maximizing the role of head-of-state diplomacy in mobilizing and harnessing resources for national development and directly contributing to the country’s double-digit growth targets.
We are confident that the visit will be a success, helping strengthen political trust between Viet Nam and the E.U. and Belgium. This, in turn, will create a favorable external environment for the country in its new era of development and enhance Viet Nam’s standing in the region and the world.
Translated by Quynh Oanh