President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives André Flahaut expressed his support for the peaceful settlement of East Sea issues at his meeting with Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan in Brussels on June 30.

Chairman Quan, who is also a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, said he hopes Flahaut, in his capacity as President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, will join the international community in raising voice against China ’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and its actions further complicating the situation.

He affirmed that Vietnam pursues the consistent policy of solving issues through dialogues in the spirit of respecting national sovereignty and asking China to comply with international law.

The HCM City leader also briefed the Belgian law maker on the situation in the city, Vietnam ’s largest economic hub, which saw a growth of 8.2 percent in the first half of 2014.

He spoke highly of Belgium ’s support to his city, particularly the Belgian Government’s provision of ODA capital to a project dredging the Soai Rap River , which has just completed the second phase at an investment of 70 million EUR.

Quan expressed his hope that Belgium ’s new parliament will approve financial assistance to the third phase of this project.

On this occasion, he informed the host that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will pay a visit to Belgium in October to boost bilateral cooperation.

For his part, Flahaut said Vietnam can be proud of its economic attainments, adding that there is a great potential for cooperation between Belgian and Vietnamese localities.-VNA