Pierre Gréga, President of the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association (Photo: VNA) In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency(VNA), Gréga highlighted Vietnam’s multilateral and open foreign policy, which hashelped the country establish relations with more than 100 countries worldwide andsign many cooperation deals and free trade agreements,notably the EU-Vietnam FTA, creating a driving force of the Southeast Asian nation’seconomy.
Vietnam has maintained balanced relations withpowers in the world, as well as friendship with its neighbours, he said,stressing that Vietnam has affirmed its position in the international arena whileholding the posts of ASEAN Chair 2020 and non-permanent member of the UnitedNations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.
The achievements have been recognised by theinternational community, Gréga noted.
He suggested Vietnam step up diplomatic ties andinvestments in Africa, explaining that the country could gain animportant foothold in the region within the South-South cooperation framework because it already has many partners in this framework.
Regarding Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Reform) that has beenrolled out since 1986, Gréga said the policy has facilitated the development ofthe market economy in Vietnam.
This is the initial, important step towards theopening of the domestic agricultural sector and State-owned enterprises, hesaid, adding that the open economy has helped to attract foreign investments to Vietnam.
The reform has also enabled the country to integrateinto the world as well as the global economy, he continued.
It is note of worthy that Vietnam has continuedpursuing socialism and managed to maintain the balance between economicdevelopment and socialism, with the State playing a crucial role in regulating themarket, according to Gréga.
He viewed the socialist-oriented economy with a goodstructure as an effective tool of Vietnam, given potential risks caused by theworld’s economy.
As President of the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association, Gréga pledged to support Vietnam in thepolitical field to boost exchanges between the Vietnamese and Belgianlegislatures and governments, thus enhancing cooperation between the twocountries./.
VNA
