At the get-together held in Brussels (Photo: VNA) Brussels (VNA) - A get-together was held on February 11 in Brussels, with the participation of more than 50 overseas Vietnamese in Belgium and Luxembourg, on the occasion of the new lunar year.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao updated the participants on Vietnam’s achievements in recent times, underlining contributions of the OVs in every field.
He said that 5.3 million Vietnamese people who are living abroad, of whom 13,000 stay in Belgium and Luxembourg, is an inseparable part of the nation.
Earlier, the Vietnamese Embassy hosted a meeting with officials and representatives from businesses of the European Union (EU), Belgium and Luxembourg, and from some friendship organisations.
Ambassador Thao, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation to Belgium and the EU, briefed socio-economic accomplishments of Vietnam in the previous year, particularly in the COVID-19 fight and economic recovery.
He recalled important cooperation results between Vietnam and the EU as well as Belgium.
Affirming ample room for cooperation, the diplomat called on them to strengthen coordination so as to maintain the momentum along with collaboration in new areas such as climate change adaptation, digital transformation and innovation, as well as culture, education and people-to-people exchange.
Gunnar Wiegand, Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the European External Action Service; and Andries Gryffroy, First Vice President of the Senate of Belgium and President of the Belgium-Vietnam Alliance, spoke highly of efforts and outcomes of Vietnam in the realisation of socio-economic targets in 2021, notably in the fight against COVID-19 with a high vaccination rate.
They highly valued Vietnam’s role, position and relations with the country, affirming their wish to bolster cooperation with Vietnam in the coming time towards recovery in the post-pandemic period and sustainable development.
Despite the adverse impacts of COVID-19, Vietnam-EU trade turnover hit 63.6 billion USD in 2021, posting a year-on-year surge of 15 percent. Vietnam became the 15th leading trade partner of the EU and the largest one in ASEAN.
Belgium continued to be among major partners of Vietnam in the EU with new investment projects announced last year in renewable energy./.
