The Vietnamese and Belgian legislative bodies will maintain exchange of delegations and share experience as well as work together to inspect the implementation of agreements reached by the two Governments, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and visiting President of the Senate of Belgium, Christine Defraigne, agreed on November 3 in Hanoi.
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| National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung (right) receives Belgian Senate President Christine Defraigne on her official visit to Vietnam__Photo: Nhan Sang/VNA |
The leaders voiced their wishes to further coordinate at multilateral forums like the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership and the Francophone Parliamentary Alliance, and support each other in issues of mutual concern.
NA Chairman Hung expressed his hope that the two sides would continue to effectively implement the inked projects and strengthen their cooperation in prioritized spheres such as logistics, high technology, green growth and vocational training.
For her part, Defraigne praised the countries' partnership in training and healthcare, saying Vietnam and Belgium still boast substantial potential for cooperation.
She affirmed the Belgian Federal Parliament's support for the relationship between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), as evidenced by Belgium's ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Vietnam and the EU. She noted Belgium would work to push other EU member countries to soon approve the agreement.
During his meeting with Defraigne the same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suggested Vietnam and Belgium develop new cooperation programs to efficiently help reach cooperation agreements.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung receives Belgian Senate President Christine Defraigne on November 3__Photo: Duc Tam/VNA |
Dung said cooperation between the two countries had yet to match their potential and strengths and called for deepening of bilateral cooperation in a practical and effective manner, particularly in the fields of economy, trade and investment.
The Prime Minister said the concluded Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement was likely to be signed this December and called on the Belgian side to approve the deal soon there after, adding that it would open up opportunities for broader cooperation between Vietnam and the EU and Belgium in particular.
In response, Defraigne asked the Vietnamese Government to support Belgian firms to study, seek investment opportunities and run long-term businesses in the country, affirming that Belgium was ready to partner with Vietnam in such fields as education and training, environmental protection, pollution control, and medicine and pharmacy.
She also pledged that Belgium would create the most favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Belgium.- (VNS/VLLF)
