Ambassador Vu Anh Quang (Photo: VNA)
Reporter: Could you please talk about the purpose of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Belgium and the EU? Ambassador Quang: The visit has 3 main purposes looking towards Vietnam’s 3 important partners.
Firstly, he will attend the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit held in Brussels on October 18th-19th, with the participation of heads of state and government of 51 member nations. Under the theme “Europe and Asia: global partners for global challenges”, Asian and European leader will discuss opportunities and challenges that the two continents are facing, and put forth big orientations to increase dialogue, cooperation and links for addressing common challenges.
Vietnam attaches special importance to the role of ASEM. During the 12th ASEM, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will deliver an important speech at the first session, highlighting Vietnam’s proposals to increase Asia-Europe links. The Prime Minister will also have a series of meetings with member nations’ leaders to boost bilateral relations.
Secondly, the Prime Minister will pay an official visit to Belgium from October 16th-17th during which he is expected to meet with King Philippe, Prime Minister Charles Michel, President of the Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke, Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois, and Minister-President of Wallonia Willy Borsus – the two largest regions in Belgium that have multilateral relations with Vietnam.
Thirdly, PM Phuc will have talks with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, meet with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, and with Chairperson of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange, in order to boost the Vietnam – EU relationship. Promoting comprehensive partnership and cooperation with the EU - one of the leading economic and political centers of the world - is always a strategically important priority in Vietnam’s external and international integration policies.
Reporter: In your opinion, what are outstanding points in the relationship between Vietnam and Belgium in particular, and the EU in general?
Ambassador Quang: Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Belgium takes place in the year the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the bilateral relationship developing in all areas, of which cooperation for sustainable development is the key. Belgium is Vietnam’s 7th largest trading partner in the EU, with two-way trade reaching USD2.7 billion in 2017. As of August 2018, Belgium’s investment in Vietnam was valued at USD900 million, while the cooperation among localities are developing well. Belgium’s Antwerp Port, the second largest in the EU, is an important gateway for Vietnamese goods to penetrate Belgium and the EU.
Many cooperative agreements will be signed during this visit, especially the Vietnam-Belgium strategic partnership in agriculture and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Vietnam and Flanders, Belgium’s most developed region that leads the country in cooperating with Vietnam.
On the Vietnam-EU relations, the two sides ratified a Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) in late 2016 and are carrying out the agreement. They also completed negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). They are working towards the signing and ratification of the two agreements. Therefore, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s meetings with EU leaders are of great significance in pushing the signing and ratification of the FTA and IPA.
The visit will be an important milestone in the bilateral Vietnam – Belgium cooperation, as well as the Vietnam – EU comprehensive partnership and cooperation.
Reporter: Could you please talk about the assessment of the relationship between Vietnam and Belgium and the EU after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit?
Ambassador Quang: There are a lot of cooperative opportunities between Vietnam and Belgium. The relationship between the two sides will have new steps of development in economics, trade and investment, especially in areas that Belgium is strong at, including hi-tech agriculture, environment, clean energy, logistics services, and training high quality human resources.
The EU is Vietnam’s second largest trade partner and export market, with bilateral trade of USD50 billion in 2017 and predicted to hit USD63 billion in 2018. EU is also the 5th largest investor in Vietnam capitalized over USD44 billion. The bloc is Vietnam’s fifth biggest investor, with a total capital of 44 billion USD. When FTA and IPA go into effect, the two-way trade between Vietnam and EU, including Belgium, will sharply increase and there will be a new flow of investment from EU countries to Vietnam./.
Reporter: Thank you very much!