With a prominent position within the EU, Belgium is currently conducting 88 projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of some $1.1 billion. It currently stands as Vietnam’s sixth-largest trading partner, with total trade turnover reaching $4.73 billion in 2022, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Vietnam, in turn, is Belgium’s second-largest trading partner in ASEAN. With the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EUVFTA) since August 2020, Belgium has played a crucial role in promoting trade and foreign investment in Vietnam. In this highly promising context, Belgian enterprises, particularly those from the Wallonia region, consider Vietnam a market full of opportunities.

“I personally rejoice that so many Belgian companies have joined in to exploit opportunities here in Vietnam,” H. E. Karl Van den Bossche, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam, said in an address to a reception in Hanoi for an economic and trade delegation from the Wallonia region paying a working trip to Vietnam from November 27-30. “I have been sharing all the great things about Vietnam, and now it’s up to them to discover that our bilateral relations are at an all-time high.”

However, the Belgian Ambassador also noted that, currently, Vietnam is exporting more to Belgium than it imports. He expects that this working trip will contribute to enhancing exports from Belgium to Vietnam and, in turn, further promote the importation of goods from Belgium by Vietnam, in order to balance two-way trade.

Ms. Pascale Delcomminette, CEO of the Investment and Export Agency of Wallonia (AWEX) and head of the delegation, said the delegation, consisting of representatives from 20 companies and organizations in the Wallonia region, covers various business sizes and sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, renewable energy, agricultural products, and food. Emphasizing that the EUVFTA has made a strong impact and opened up opportunities for cooperation while fostering a favorable environment for both sides, Ms. Delcomminette highlighted the significant potential the Wallonia region holds and the opportunities that Vietnam brings to businesses from both countries.

Specifically, the Wallonia companies visiting Vietnam operate in sectors such as Construction - Materials - Civil Engineering (Aciers Grosjean, Haemers, Wood-Pool); Digital Services (Alpaga, Dirty Monitor); Food and Beverages, Food Supplements (Avieta SA., Be Asia, Brasserie d’Ecaussinnes, Laboratoires Trenker, Lutosa, Proaniwal, Univers Drink); and Medical Equipment (D-Tek, Ecosteryl, Huckert’s International, IBA, Univercells, ZenTech).

“These companies are specialized in their field,” the Belgian Ambassador noted, adding that they all have one thing in common: they are eager to learn about the potential of Vietnamese companies seeking partnerships with European companies from Belgium.

“I consider Vietnam a gateway to ASEAN, and Belgium is a gateway to the EU,” he continued. “Which is why I hope relations between the businesspeople of the two countries will become even better and even stronger with the Vietnamese Government having decided to extend visa exemptions already applied to seven other EU countries. I will do everything in my power to accommodate Vietnamese businesspeople who want to go to the Schengen zone if they have tangible and good contracts with our Belgian companies.”

On this occasion, Mr. Le Hoang Tai, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ms. Delcomminette signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to kickstart cooperation in trade promotion between the two entities.

Expressing her admiration for the dynamic, rapidly-growing economy in Vietnam and its growing middle class, Ms. Delcomminette greatly appreciates the development potential of Vietnam. By signing the LOI with Vietrade, she believes that this will provide a solid foundation for cooperation between businesses from both sides, enhancing economic, trade, and investment links between Vietnam and Belgium and contributing to overall global economic growth.