Friday, 18/01/2019 16:03 (GMT+7)
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh city People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong has confirmed that Vietnam and its Ho Chi Minh city always attach great importance to Belgium, which is reflected in the cooperative relationship from central to local levels.
At the reception (Photo: thanhuytphcm.vn)
He made the statement during his reception for new Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen on January 17
th.
According to Mr. Phong, in 2018, the two countries carried out diverse activities to mark the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship, including Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Belgium in October which helped create stronger impetus for bilateral relationship.
He expressed his belief that the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement will make favourable conditions to boost the Vietnam – Belgium relationship, especially in trade and investment.
Noting that although Ho Chi Minh city has maintained good relationships with Belgian localities, the cooperation is limited compared to the potential, with two-way trade turnover of only USD616 million in 2018, and there are only 25 Belgian projects worth USD6.9 million in Ho Chi Minh city. “I hope that Ho Chi Minh city and Belgium will increase cooperation in diverse areas, especially in waste water treatment, hi-tech, seaport and building of smart city,” he added.
Asserting that Vietnamese Prime Minister’s visit to Belgium in 2018 brought good results to the bilateral relationship, Ambassador Paul Jansen highlighted the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Belgian agency of quality. Under the MoU, Belgium plans to import vegetables and fruits from Vietnam, and work with Vietnamese universities and businesses to organize conferences on food safety in Ho Chi Minh city.
He added that Belgium expects to open a museum on chocolate in Ho Chi Minh city, to introduce his country’s key product, take advantage of coca planted in Vietnam, and contribute an additional tourism site for the Vietnamese city./.
Compiled by BTA