King Philippe and Queen Mathilde during the Belgian National Day celebrations in Brussels, Belgium, July 21, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

At the invitation of Politburo member and President Luong Cuong, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Belgium will pay a State visit to Vietnam from March 31 to April 4. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said that the State visit to Vietnam by the King and Queen of Belgium is a special visit, of great significance to the relationship between the two countries. This is the first State visit after more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, especially in the context of Vietnam entering a new era; an important historical milestone, bringing the relationship between the two countries into a new stage of development, with higher political trust, and more substantial and effective cooperation.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang pointed out four highlights of the visit. Firstly, the visit demonstrates the special affection of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde for Vietnam. Previously, both the King and Queen had visited Vietnam many times in different positions and left many impressions. Although this is the first State visit to Vietnam, for the King and Queen, it is essentially a "return" to Vietnam, a return to the land where the King and Queen had many memories and affection during previous visits.

Second, welcoming the King and Queen of Belgium to Vietnam is a vivid demonstration of Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of foreign relations for peace, friendship, cooperation and development, proactive and active integration into the world comprehensively and deeply, being a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community; demonstrating Vietnam's respect for Belgium, an important partner of Vietnam in the European Union. On the Belgian side, the King and Queen's State visit to Vietnam, in the context that the King of Belgium rarely makes official visits to countries outside the European region during the year, has shown Belgium's special respect for Vietnam and Vietnam's role and position in the Asia-Pacific region.

Third, the visit affirmed the desire and determination of both sides to bring bilateral relations to a new height, further increase political trust, promote cooperation in many fields, especially economics - trade - investment - an important pillar in the bilateral relationship. The visit also continued to deepen the framework of the Vietnam - Belgium Strategic Partnership on Agriculture established by the two countries in 2018, while expanding cooperation in other priority and potential areas such as education - training, science - technology, culture - arts.

It is expected that the King and Queen of Belgium will be accompanied by 34 CEOs of leading Belgian and EU corporations and enterprises in the fields of logistics services, seaports, energy transition, climate change response, healthcare, food, etc., and 16 leaders of leading Belgian universities and research institutes. This demonstrates Belgium's desire to work with Vietnam to consolidate existing cooperation foundations, while seeking and exploring new cooperation opportunities in potential areas where Belgium has strengths and Vietnam has needs.

Fourthly, through the visit, Vietnam continues to request the Belgian side to pay attention and create favorable conditions for the 13,000 Vietnamese community in Belgium to live, study and do business in the country, promote the spirit of solidarity, turn towards the Fatherland, actively integrate into Belgian society, act as a bridge, increase understanding between the people of the two countries, and contribute to the development of Vietnam - Belgium relations.

Source: https://laodong.vn/the-gioi/chuong-moi-trong-quan-he-viet-nam-bi-1484447.ldo