The delegation of the Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly to Europe is of great significance.

After 31 years of establishing diplomatic relations, cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union has entered a framework and developed rapidly in many fields, especially in trade and investment.

On the occasion ofNational Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue visits EuropeAttending the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Austria, visiting and working with the European Parliament (EP), Finland and the Kingdom of Belgium, VOV reporter interviewed online Mr. Paul Jansen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Vietnam about the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Belgium, especially the inter-parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and the EU. According to the assessment, this is a very important visit, contributing to promoting the cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium in particular and Vietnam and the EU in general.

Mr. Paul Jansen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Vietnam.

PV:Could you give an overview of the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Belgium in recent times?

Ambassador Paul Jansen:Diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Belgium have a history of almost 50 years. We established diplomatic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the 1970s. Since then, the relationship has developed very rapidly and impressively. The two countries started their relationship in the post-war years with a very important development cooperation program.

Belgium was one of the first European countries to have a development cooperation program with Vietnam. The program had many contents, including the provision of locomotives for the Vietnamese railways, which was the first project that Belgium implemented in Vietnam. Then we had a program to support the development of the Vietnamese dairy industry and more recently a program on water resources management and sustainable development, developing a green economy. Those were the main topics of our last development cooperation program with Vietnam.

The program ended very successfully in June 2019. After that, the bilateral relationship between the two countries was mainly based on partnerships. We have had many academic cooperation relationships between Vietnamese and Belgian universities, and NGOs from both countries cooperate with each other. Our two countries have a strategic partnership in the field of agriculture, and we have many Vietnamese alumni who have studied in Belgium. Therefore, this is a relationship that is developing more and more diversely and richly.

PV:Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue is on a visit to Europe. What is your assessment of the visit and what are your expectations for strengthening the relationship between Vietnam and Belgium in particular and between Vietnam and the European Union in general?

AmbassadorPaul Jansen:In fact, Mr. Vuong Dinh Hue has visited Belgium in the past when he was Deputy Prime Minister and we are very happy to welcome him again to continue to strengthen the relationship. And this visit is very important because, as I know, since the Covid-19 crisis began, this is the largest foreign delegation to visit Belgium from any country in the world. So that shows the importance of the visit.

For Vietnam, this visit is also very important because it is a very large delegation. We hope that the friendship between the two countries will continue to be strengthened and cooperation will be enhanced. Many Belgian companies are interested in the Vietnamese market and want to make large investments because we see that this is a very promising market in a very promising region. Therefore, we will certainly pay a lot of attention to this.

There will be many other topics of cooperation. The President of the National Assembly can discuss parliamentary cooperation with his counterpart, the President of the Belgian House of Representatives Eliane Tillieux. There will be many different cooperation programs, including cooperation programs with the EU because Brussels is the seat of the European Commission. I think that Mr. Vuong Dinh Hue's work program will be very dense and I hope that the good relationship between us will continue to develop further and the cooperation will be strengthened. I think the main topic will be economic and investment cooperation.

PV:How do you evaluate the potential for cooperation between the National Assembly of Vietnam and Belgium?

AmbassadorPaul Jansen:The Vietnamese and Belgian legislatures are currently discussing a number of agenda items. The topics have been discussed since the previous National Assembly term, but now the new National Assembly has been elected and we hope that a new friendship group of parliamentarians will soon be elected, so that the two sides can continue discussing agenda items such as international treaties. In particular, the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) and the investment protection agreement EVIPA, which have been ratified, will certainly be a topic of focus. The two sides also mentioned issues related to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) because both our countries are members of the IPU.

I hope that this will contribute to further promoting bilateral investment cooperation. Cooperation between the two governments is very important, but besides that, cooperation between the parliaments and the people of the two countries and all aspects of the bilateral relationship between the two countries are very important. Parliamentarians represent the voice of the people, so certainly the discussions between parliamentarians of the two countries are also very important.

PV:Yes, thank you very much Ambassador.

Mai Lien