Welcoming Thao, Stephanie D’Hose congratulated him on his appointment as Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and wished him a successful term of office to take the two countries’ relations to a new height.
She expressed her delight at the development of the ties between the two countries and two parliaments particularly, reflected by a visit of Vietnamese Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue to Belgium last year.
The Belgian official highlighted the significant role of the parliaments at the time of COVID-19 and the ever-changing global situation. She proposed the two nations to further beef up inter-parliamentary partnership and expected to pay a visit to Vietnam in the coming time.
She also highly spoke of what Vietnam and Belgium have achieved to boost their economic cooperation over the previous years and pledged she will give a further push to the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
She later suggested the two sides seek opportunities for expanded partnership in culture, education and people-to-people exchange.
Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao emphasised he will try his best to deepen the bilateral ties in all areas.
Looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-Belgium diplomatic ties (1973 – 2023), Thao forwarded the invitation of Vietnamese leaders to leaders of Belgium's parliament to visit Vietnam in the near future.
He said there are still plenty of room for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the fields of mutual interest, such as renewable energy, smart agriculture, seaport, logistics, digital economy, climate change and smart cities.
He asked Belgium to soon ratify the EVIPA and promote other EU members to do the same so this can open more opportunities for Belgian and EU enterprises to do business in Vietnam and expand their presence in neighbouring areas.
He underscored that priority should also be given to cultural and student exchange, and education cooperation to enhance the mutual understanding between the two countries' people.
