This was the message delivered by Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the European Union (EU) Nguyen Huong Tra at a recent meeting with representatives of Vietnamese associations in Belgium and Luxembourg in Brussels.
Tra outlined Viet Nam’s economic achievements after four decades of reform. The economy is now 70 times larger than in 1990, while per capita income reached nearly 5,026 USD in 2025. Viet Nam is currently among the world’s 18 leading exporters, with the goals of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2045.
Viet Nam is no longer in a stage of “escaping poverty” but is moving toward high-quality growth, a process that requires intellectual resources rather than simply a larger workforce, she noted. In external relations, the ambassador said that Viet Nam-EU relations were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January 2026, with science and technology identified as one of the pillars of cooperation. With Belgium, recent visits by the Belgian King, Queen and Crown Prince have opened up new opportunities, particularly in technology, education and seaports.
Meanwhile, Viet Nam and Luxembourg established a Strategic Partnership on green finance in 2023, and their finance ministries have completed a draft memorandum of understanding aimed at connecting financial institutions and stock exchanges, providing a foundation for Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to draw on Luxembourg’s experience in developing the Viet Nam International Financial Centre.
Against this backdrop, Tra highlighted the strengths of the Vietnamese communities in Belgium and Luxembourg, as many Vietnamese living in the two countries work in fields Viet Nam needs for its transformation, including artificial intelligence (AI), nuclear energy, biotechnology, finance and health care.
Affirming that overseas Vietnamese are an integral part of the nation and partners in its development and creation, she pledged to listen to them openly and responsibly, and convey their recommendations to authorities at home.
At the meeting, Minister Counsellor Nguyen Ba Sang said seven Vietnamese associations are currently active in the two countries. Many Vietnamese intellectuals work at major universities and leading research institutes in Belgium, Luxembourg and Europe, forming a young, dynamic and enthusiastic community engaged in substantive fields.
Representatives of Vietnamese associations expressed their readiness to contribute, while calling for more effective mechanisms and practical connections. They proposed stronger links with domestic businesses and institutions, clearer information about delegations from Viet Nam, and flexible policies and financial mechanisms enabling overseas experts to participate in specific projects.
