Investment opportunities and challenges in Vietnam were introduced to Belgian enterprises at a workshop in Liege city on November 5.

At the event, Vietnam Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Pham Sanh Chau emphasised the flourishing ties between Vietnam and the region of Wallonie-Brussels, especially in 2013 when the two sides mark 20 years of the signing of their cooperation agreement.

The Belgian region now has 28 approved cooperation projects with Vietnam, capitalised at around 4.5 million USD, he said.

To be implemented between now and 2015, they focus on French language training, communications, cultural diversity, human resources development, health, vocational training, scientific research, and environment.

CEO of the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX) Philippe Suinen highly valued investment potential in Vietnam, saying that Vietnam offers numerous opportunities for Belgian business, especially in farm produce processing, environment, and waste treatment.

The two sides should step up cooperation between their localities to create more jobs and development opportunities for Vietnam, he suggested.

The localities of Vietnam and Belgium have seen fruitful cooperation, particularly in floriculture, aquaculture, urban planning and waste water management, and heritage conservation.

Currently, the European country has 40 investment projects worth 98 million EUR (133.99 million USD) in Vietnam-VNA