Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen (R) and President of the Belgian Senate Stéphanie D'Hose. (Photo: VNA) Nen highlighted the growing partnership between Vietnam andBelgium in all fields from politics, diplomacy to economy, culture andpeople-to-people exchanges, stressing that the two sides shared common interestin areas of education, culture, settling consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin, womenprotection as well as environmental protection and climate change response.
He said that HCM City is an economic, culture,education-training, science and technology hub of Vietnam and the country’s centrefor international integration. The city has always implemented promptly programmes and plans of leaders of the two nations inall areas, Nen said, adding that HCM City has many effective cooperationprojects with Belgium.
However, the official held that the current trade and investment partnershipbetween the city and Belgium has remained modest compared to the potential andaspirations of the two sides. He believed that the Belgian SenatePresident’s visit will help deepen the cooperation between the two sides,especially between the city and Belgian localities.
Nen suggested D'Hose pay attention to assistingBelgium businesses in investing in the city, thus helping the city to perform its role as an economic driving force of the country.
The official highly evaluated and thanked the House of Representatives of Belgiumfor issuing a resolution on support to Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims inVietnam.
For her part, D'Hose expressed her great impressions of Vietnam and its people. She said that her visit aimed to reinforce and furtherstrengthen the Vietnam-Belgium relations.
The Belgian leader briefed the host on the outcomesof her visit, including the signing of a letter of intent between the Belgianparliament and the Vietnamese National Assembly. She affirmed that the visithas given her a deeper insight into Vietnam and its people, whichprompts her to make greater efforts to bolster cooperation between the two countries,especially in trade, investment and connecting businesses of the two sides.
Pointing out similarities in history between Vietnam andBelgium, D’Hosesaid that the Belgium Parliament is planning to approve the resolution on support to AOvictims in Vietnam and will continue to assist the victims as well as the settlementof AO consequences. It will call on the World Health Organisation and other internationalorganisations to increase research on the consequences of AO, and urge the US to continue assisting Vietnam in dealing with the aftermaths of AO, she added./.
VNA
