President of the Belgian-Vietnamese Alliance Andries Gryffroy (L) and VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh sign an MoU on cooperation in supporting the two countries' businesses at the meeting in Brussels on October 18. (Photo: VNA) The meeting was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassyin Belgium, the Belgian-Vietnamese Alliance (BVA), and the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI), with the participation of a visiting delegationfrom the northern province of Hai Duong.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to BelgiumNguyen Van Thao said that the meeting is part of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Belgium this year,which also sees many delegation exchanges. The Belgian Chamber of Representatives hasalso approved a resolution to support Agent Orange/dioxin victims in Vietnam,he noted.
The diplomat hailed the role that the BVA has played inpromoting the Vietnam-Belgium partnership over the years by acting as afriendship bridge for the two countries.
BVA President Andries Gryffroy said that he accompanied the Minister-President ofthe Government of Flanders Region to visit Vietnam in September, during which thetwo sides sought measures to promote bilateral partnership and provided achance for Belgian businesses to explore the Vietnamese market.
He said he hopes more Vietnamese firms will invest inBelgium in the coming time along with automaker VinFast.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) also provides achance for European and Vietnamese firms to increase the export of products toeach other’s market, he held.
For his part, VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh saidthat with their sound relations, the VCCI and the BVA will continue to work closelytogether in promoting trade and investment to create favourable conditionsfor the business community of the two sides to enter each other’s market.
At the event, the BVA and the VCCI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) oncooperation in supporting Vietnamese and Belgian businesses.
According to Andries Gryffroy, the MoU was first signed in 2017, laying afoundation for the two sides to coordinate in strengthening the economic andtrade ties between Vietnam and Belgium.
Vinh said that the VCCI and the BVA will discuss specificcooperation areas and measures to bring more enterprises from Belgium andEurope to Vietnam, and help more Vietnamese firms to seek opportunities inEurope.
At the event, Chairman of the Hai Duong People’s Committee Trieu The Hungintroduced the locality’s strengths to Belgian investors, especially itsadvantages in location, transport infrastructure, human resources, as well asincentives for investors.
He called for investment from Europe, including Belgium, inlogistics and ecological agriculture of Hai Duong.
De Grand Ry, Honourable Consul of Vietnam, who has run alogistics firm operating in Vietnam for 20 years, said that his firm is keen on shipping Hai Duong lychee to Belgium, but the work is difficult due to the long transportation time.
Philippe Vermeulen, Chairman of Avalon Group, expressed hishope to cooperate with Vietnamese peers in the fields of planning, design andconstruction of factories, hotels, hospitals and nursing homes to Europeanstandards, as well as in developing experiential and responsible tourismprojects. Some other firms also showed their interest in ecotourism in HaiDuong./.
VNA
