President Truong Tan Sang on Mar. 12 met visiting Belgian Crown Prince Philippe, welcoming the prince’s coming back after nine years.

President Sang asked the two sides to continue exchanging delegations at high levels in order to cement the relationship.

He thanked the Belgian Government for putting Vietnam high on its list of official development assistance (ODA) recipients, and for its supports of Vietnam at international and regional forums.

Sang spoke highly of Belgium ’s support towards Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive relationship with the European Union, particularly in the removal of the anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes imported by the European Union market.

For his part Crown Prince Philippe affirmed Belgium would support Vietnam in information technology, transport infrastructure, environmental protection and health care.

He also expressed hope that Vietnam would be a bridge for Belgian enterprises to other Southeast Asian countries.

The same day, Belgian Crown Prince Philippe was also received by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who affirmed that Vietnam would consistently consolidate the partnership with Belgium in every field.

He said the two Governments should create favourable conditions for enterprises from both sides to meet and learn investment opportunities.

He affirmed Vietnam would effectively use Belgium ’s ODA funding in meeting socio-economic development targets.

The PM was pleased to see the economics and commerce ties between Vietnam and Belgium had witnessed a strong progress with the two-way trade turnover of 1.6 billion USD last year.

On his part, Crown Prince Philippe expressed his wish to boost cooperation with Vietnam on the fields of Belgium ’s strengths, including green technology, renewable energies, and space sciences among others.-VNA