Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium: Nghe An is a priority province in development cooperation

On the afternoon of April 17, a delegation from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Vietnam led by Ambassador Jehanne Roccas came to offer flowers and incense to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh at Kim Lien Relic Site, Nam Dan.

The working delegation commemorated President Ho Chi Minh. Photo: My Nga

Delegates expressed their admiration and respect for the spirit of President Ho Chi Minh - the great leader of the Vietnamese people.

He devoted his whole life to the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese people, striving tirelessly for peace and progress in the world.

Ambassador Jehanne Roccas and the delegation visited President Ho Chi Minh's paternal and maternal hometowns, and heard about the place where the Vietnamese national liberation hero was born and spent his childhood.

The delegation visited President Ho Chi Minh's hometown. Photo: My Nga

In the afternoon of the same day, the delegation of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium paid a courtesy visit to the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee. Welcoming the delegation were comrades: Nguyen Xuan Duong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of the Departments: Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment.

On behalf of the provincial leaders, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong outlined some information about the province's socio-economic development situation, as well as its potential advantages.

Regarding cooperation with the Kingdom of Belgium, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that the export turnover to the Belgian market in 2017 reached 5.9 million USD with the following items: textiles, gas lighters, and roofing sheets.

The Kingdom of Belgium has also provided ODA capital to Nghe An to implement projects such as: "Cua Lo town wastewater drainage and treatment system phase II" with aid capital of 9.5 million Euro; Project "Poverty reduction through institutional capacity building in Quy Chau district and Nghe An province - PORIS (VIE 0803611), Project "Support for accountable and responsive local governance (RALG) in Nghe An".

ODA projects funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium have contributed to improving institutional capacity, protecting the environment, and bringing practical benefits to the government and people of Nghe An province.

View of the meeting. Photo: My Nga

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong proposed to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Vietnam to introduce businesses and investors to Nghe An to survey and explore investment cooperation possibilities in the fields of high-tech industry, supporting industry, mechanical engineering, production of new materials, etc.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized that Nghe An is committed to supporting Belgian investors to learn about investment opportunities and invest effectively in the province.

In addition, Nghe An also hopes to continue receiving ODA aid from the Kingdom of Belgium to develop agriculture and rural areas in combination with hunger eradication and poverty reduction such as: developing essential rural infrastructure for the poor; improving management capacity...

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ms. Jehanne Roccas, thanked Nghe An province for the warm welcome and said that since 2002, the country has chosen Nghe An as a priority province for development cooperation, starting with the rural development program in Quy Chau, helping the province to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty. To date, the project has been completed with successful results.

Provincial leaders and the delegation from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium took a souvenir photo. Photo: My Nga

Regarding the RALG project in Nghe An, Ms. Jehanne Roccas expressed her satisfaction when attending the Workshop "Administrative reform towards improving the business environment and attracting investment in Nghe An province" on the same morning.

The Ambassador pledged to continue supporting the Nghe An provincial government in its efforts to reform administration and improve the investment environment, ensuring the project will be as successful as previous projects.

Accordingly, Ambassador Jehanne Roccas also asked the province to focus on coordinating with Belgian experts to urge the project's progress, to ensure the project will be completed on time in June 2019.

At the end of the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong pledged to receive and urge the resolution of related issues, propose reasonable solutions, and at the same time hope that the friendly and cooperative relationship between Nghe An and the Kingdom of Belgium will increasingly develop and achieve many successes in all fields.