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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (right) and Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Karl Van den Bossche |
At the meeting, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and highly appreciates the cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Belgium. The relationship between the two countries has been constantly consolidated and developed in many fields.
According to him, in 2023, the two countries will organize a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations (1973-2023). These activities will be opportunities to lift the bilateral relations to a new height.
Fifty years ago in 2002, Vietnam and Belgium established their defense ties. The two sides signed a framework agreement on defense cooperation. Over the past years, they have fostered cooperation in training and peacekeeping operations, strategic exchange, and settlement of war legacy.
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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (right) presenting a souvenir to Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Karl Van den Bossche |
The Vietnamese deputy defense minister suggested the two sides promote cooperation in defense on the basis of the inked framework agreement focusing on delegation exchange, training, U.N. peacekeeping operations, strategic exchange, overcoming of war legacy, and military medicine.
The Vietnamese defense leader hoped that Belgium will continue assisting Vietnam in fostering defense cooperation with the European Union. He believed that in his term of office, Ambassador Karl Van den Bossche will make more contribution to the relationship between Belgium and Vietnam in general and the bilateral defense ties in particular.
For his part, Ambassador Karl Van den Bossche expressed delight at taking on the role as Belgium Ambassador in Vietnam, a dynamic country with great potential for cooperation. The diplomat said that in its foreign policy, Belgium has paid attention to Asia, especially Vietnam.
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The two delegations posing for a joint photo |
Agreeing with the proposal of Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Ambassador Karl Van den Bossche affirmed that he would work closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to promote cooperation in the fields that the two sides have strengths as well as Belgian projects which are being implemented in Vietnam.
Translated by Tran Hoai