Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has hailed the supportof the French Community of Belgium (FederationWallonie-Bruxelles) for Vietnam in general and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministryin particular over the past 25 years through projects in various fields.

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

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

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

The guest reiterated that Vietnam is a priority partner of Wallonie-Bruxellesand the region will continue to accompany Vietnam in the process of sustainabledevelopment.

The two sides noted with joy that since the establishment of bilateral ties in1993, cooperation between Vietnam and Wallonie-Bruxelles has grown and beenexpanded to many fields with more beneficiaries in Vietnam.

They agreed to continue to implement projects under the 11th 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 andsuggested that the two sides promote the implementation of the Vietnam-EU FreeTrade Agreement, and work to help Vietnamese farm products enter supermarketsin Belgium.

He also urged Wallonie-Bruxelles to earlyratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and push the federalgovernment of Belgium to early complete the ratification of the agreement inorder to optimize opportunities brought by the EVIPA.

Minister-President of the FederationWallonie-Bruxelles Pierre-Yves Jeholet said the region will continue to promotecooperative mechanisms with Vietnam, and the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX) in Vietnam willcoordinate with Vietnamese agencies to bolster trade and investmentpartnerships.

The two ministers agreed to continue strengthening cooperationat multilateral forums and international organisations, especially the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the UN HumanRights Council.

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