Belgian businesses seek cooperation opportunities in Vietnam

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang

The delegation of nearly 90 entrepreneurs from 65 Belgian enterprises, led by Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois, is scheduled to visit Vietnam as part of activities to celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

Addressing the meeting, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang praised the Flanders Minister-President for his efforts to develop the relations between Vietnam and the Flanders region in recent years.

He hoped the upcoming visit will help Vietnamese and Belgian businesses to understand more about each other’s potential as well as trade and investment cooperation opportunities.

The diplomat said the two nations are working to elevate the bilateral ties to strategic partnership in some specific fields.

He added that the free trade agreement between EU and Vietnam, once signed and ratified, will open up numerous opportunities for Vietnamese and Belgian enterprises to strengthen connectivity and collaboration.

This will also help increase Belgium’s investment in Vietnam, particularly in the fields of shipbuilding, agriculture, high technology, and clean energy, contributing to promoting sustainable and green growth in Vietnam, the ambassador added.

For his part, Bourgeois hailed Vietnam’s strong development over the past 30 years with annual remarkable gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6 - 7 percent.

Vietnam holds a lot of potential for economic development, and in fact, the country has been successful not only in calling for foreign investment but also in reforming trade and administrative procedures, he said.

The Flanders leader added he has high expectations for Belgium-Vietnam partnership, adding that he hoped the two countries will work to improve trade balance in the coming time, citing the fact that the Flanders region exported 4.92 million EUR (5.8 million USD) worth of goods to Vietnam but imported 2 billion EUR from the market.

The reality shows that goods made in Belgium and Vietnam, especially farm produce, are not competitive but supplementary, enabling the two countries to boost cooperation in trade and investment, he added.

On the occasion of five-day visit to Vietnam, businesses from the Flanders region will hold meetings, promotions and field trips to promote their products and study cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese partners.