Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Vu Anh Quang addresses the event (Photo: VNA)Brussels (VNA) – A ceremony to celebrate the74th National Day took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Brussels,Belgium, on September 10, drawing 300 officials from the EU and Belgium, representativesof local businesses, and the Vietnamese community in the country.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium,Luxembourg and head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU Vu Anh Quang saidVietnam attaches great importance to developing ties with the EU and Belgium inparticular.
Promoting partnership with the EU and its member countriesis one of the major pillars of Vietnam’s foreign policy, he said.
The Vietnam-EU relationship has thrived with the conclusionof negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-VietnamInvestment Protection Agreement (IPA) in June this year.
Meanwhile, Vietnam-Belgium ties have also expanded,especially in trade and investment.
The ambassador welcomed the contributions of the EU topeace, security and development in Southeast Asia, especially EU statementsreleased in August regarding developments in the East Sea.
For his part, Jan Zahradil, President of the EU-VietnamFriendship Parliamentarian Group and Vice Chairman of the European ParliamentCommittee of International Trade, said the signing of the EVFTA more than twomonths ago in Hanoi was a key milestone for both sides, and helped makeVietnam’s National Day ceremony happier.
Zahradil said as Vice Chairman of the European ParliamentCommittee of International Trade, he has followed the negotiations of the EVFTAand found this is the most ambitious deal the EU has signed with a developingcountry.
The EU-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarian Group hopes tocontinue playing an active role during the European side’s approval of thedeal, he said.
Commenting on Vietnam-Belgium relations after the signing ofthe EVFTA, Prof. Pierre Grega, Chairman of the Vietnam-Belgium FriendshipParliamentarian Group, said ties have been promoted in recent years and willthrive in the future, especially in trade, investment and training.
He said the ratification of the EVFTA will help expand tradeand investment activities between the two countries. Vietnamese intellectualstrained in Belgium are expected to become a major force in the field, headded./.
VNA
