Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU Vu Anh Quang speaks at the get-together (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Relations between Vietnamand the European Union (EU) as well as between Vietnam and Belgium have been flourishing,said Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Vietnamese Delegation tothe EU Vu Anh Quang.
In his speech at a get-together to celebrate the LunarNew Year in Brussels on February 8, Quang said the strong development of theVietnam-EU and Vietnam-Belgium relationships is evidence to prove Vietnam’s increasingposition on the international arena.
The diplomat also briefed participants on Vietnam’s socio-economicachievements in 2019.
Vietnam is currently one of the Asia-Pacific countrieswith the most intensive and extensive relations with the EU within theframework of comprehensive cooperative partnership in terms of politics,economy, trade-investment, and defence-security, he said.
Among ASEAN member states, Vietnam is the thirdcountry to sign a partnership and cooperation agreement and the second to ink a free trade agreementand an investment protection agreement with the EU, which are expected to be approvedby the European Parliament on February 12.
According to the ambassador, Belgium is currentlyVietnam's 7th largest agricultural export market in the EU. In 2019, two-way tradeexceeded 3 billion USD, of which Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of nearly 2billion USD with Belgium.
Belgian businesses have poured over 1 billion USD into Vietnam, ranking 23rdamong 131 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation,Quang noted./.
VNA
