This is the first state visit to Vietnam by the Belgian King and Queen since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973, demonstrating Belgium's special regard for the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, as well as Vietnam's role and position in the region.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde have special affection for Vietnam and have both visited Vietnam in different positions. The King has visited Vietnam three times as Crown Prince. Meanwhile, Queen Mathilde visited Vietnam in 2023 as Honorary President of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Belgium.
This visit takes place in the context of the continued development of the Vietnam-Belgium friendship and cooperation. In terms of politics and diplomacy, the two sides regularly maintain delegation exchanges and high-level contacts. The two countries also effectively implement cooperation frameworks and mechanisms, including the Vietnam-Belgium Joint Committee for Economics, Science and Technology; the Vietnam-Wallonie-Bruxelles Standing Joint Committee; and the Deputy Foreign Minister-level Political Consultation.
In the international arena, Vietnam and Belgium regularly coordinate closely and support each other at multilateral forums and mechanisms, including the UN. In October 2023, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives passed a resolution in support of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims in Vietnam.
This is the first time a foreign parliament has passed this resolution, thereby contributing to promoting the international community's interest and calling on countries to support AO/dioxin victims in Vietnam.
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that this visit by King Philippe and the Queen is also an opportunity to express their concern and solidarity with the AO/dioxin victims and contribute to efforts to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam.
Based on the political trust that generations of Vietnamese and Belgian leaders have worked hard to cultivate over the years, bilateral cooperation has developed positively in many fields and achieved prideworthy results.
Belgium is Vietnam's 6th largest export market in Europe, while Vietnam is Belgium's largest trading partner in ASEAN.
Two-way trade turnover in 2024 reached 4.45 billion USD, up 15% compared to 2023. Belgium currently has 100 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of 1.1 billion USD, focusing on the fields of maritime transport, logistics services and renewable energy, ranking 23rd among countries and territories investing in Vietnam and 6th out of 27 European Union (EU) member countries investing in Vietnam.
For Vietnam-Belgium relations, it is impossible not to mention the agricultural sector as a bright spot in bilateral cooperation in recent times.
Within the framework of strategic partnership framework in agriculture in 2018, the two countries are implementing many technical cooperation programs between schools and agricultural research institutes; developing a waterway logistics system to serve the export of agricultural products from Vietnam to Europe; and promoting the deployment of smart cold logistics chains and cooperation in developing the cocoa industry and in the field of food safety.
In addition, cooperation in other areas such as defence-security, culture, education-training, and local cooperation has also been promoted and achieved many positive results.
The Vietnamese community in Belgium currently has about 13,000 people, with a spirit of solidarity, mutual assistance, oriented towards the Fatherland and good integration with the locality, which is highly appreciated by Belgian authorities at all levels.
Over the years, the Vietnamese community in Belgium has always been an important bridge, contributing to bridging geographical gaps, strengthening friendship and mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.
The state visit of Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde to Vietnam provides an opportunity to promote the Vietnam-Belgium relationship to continue to deepen and be effective, especially in traditional cooperation areas such as trade, investment, agriculture, education and training; at the same time, expanding cooperation in new areas with great potential in which Belgium has strengths and is suitable for Vietnam's development needs such as science and technology, semiconductors, high-tech human resource training, renewable energy, culture, tourism, local cooperation, and people-to-people exchange.
Through the visit, the two countries also hope to promote cooperation in responding to global issues such as climate change and food security in order to contribute to peace, security, and development in the region and the world.
The reception of Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde is a positive step in implementing Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, diversification of international relations, proactive and active international integration; at the same time, affirming Vietnam's consistent policy of always attaching importance to and wishing to promote relations with European countries, including Belgium.
Wishing the state visit to Vietnam by Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde a great success, opening new doors for cooperation in the relationship between the two countries.
![[In Photos] Relatives of earthquake victims in Myanmar moved and grateful to Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence rescue team](https://image-en.nhandan.vn/350x200/Uploaded/2025/eclyestesfj/2025_04_02/m1-1991-3524.jpg)
