Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son  (R) and Minister-President of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet  (Photo:Tuan Anh)

 During his reception on October 18 for Minister-President of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet, who is on an official visit from October 15-21, Minister Son said the projects of Wallonie-Bruxelles have contributed practically to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

 He welcomed the region of Belgium to expand its collaboration with Viet Nam to the field of sport, aiming to help Vietnamese sports to reach world level.

 The Foreign Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government attaches importance to the cooperation with Wallonie-Bruxelles, adding that the visit by the Minister-President is an important milestone, helping promote the ties between Viet Nam and Belgium in general and with the region in particular.

 The guest reiterated that Viet Nam is a priority partner of Wallonie-Bruxelles and the region will continue to accompany Viet Nam in the process of sustainable development.

 The two sides noted with joy that since the establishment of bilateral ties in 1993, cooperation between Viet Nam and Wallonie-Bruxelles has grown and been expanded to many fields with more beneficiaries in Viet Nam.

The meeting between Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) and Minister-President of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet in Hanoi on October 18 (Photo: Tuan Anh)

 They agreed to continue to implement projects under the 11^th Standing Joint Committee and expand cooperation to potential fields such as people to people diplomacy, journalism and cultural industry.

 Minister Son noted that bilateral trade remained modest and suggested that the two sides promote the implementation of the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement, and work to help Vietnamese farm products enter supermarkets in Belgium.

 He also urged Wallonie-Bruxelles to early ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and push the federal government of Belgium to early complete the ratification of the agreement in order to optimize opportunities brought by the EVIPA.

 Minister-President of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet said the region will continue to promote cooperative mechanisms with Viet Nam, and the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) in Viet Nam will coordinate with Vietnamese agencies to bolster trade and investment partnerships.

 The two ministers agreed to continue strengthening cooperation at multilateral forums and international organisations, especially the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the UN Human Rights Council.

 Regarding the East Sea issue, the ministers affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight; peacefully settling disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and working towards reaching a substantive and effective Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea./.