General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and his spouse Ngô Phương Ly arrive in Brussels on the afternoon of October 21 for official visits to the European Union and Belgium. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

BRUSSELS — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm, his spouse Ngô Phương Ly, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon (local time), beginning official visits to the European Union (EU) and Belgium.

The visits are being made at the invitation of European Council President António Costa and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

At Melsbroek Military Airport, the General Secretary and President and his entourage were welcomed by First Vice-President of the Belgian Senate Andries Gryffroy, Belgian Ambassador to Việt Nam Pieter Leenknegt, Honorary Consul of Việt Nam in Antwerp Van Gestel, and other Belgian officials, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the EU Nguyễn Hương Trà, officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Belgium.

Việt Nam and the EU established diplomatic relations in 1990, gradually expanding their ties from humanitarian and development cooperation into a comprehensive partnership spanning politics, economy, sustainable development, security and people-to-people exchanges.

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which took effect in 2016, established the political and legal framework for bilateral relations.

In January 2026, Việt Nam and the EU upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, broadening cooperation in areas including economy, trade, green transition, energy, innovation, security, and regional and international affairs.

Việt Nam and Belgium established diplomatic relations in 1973. Việt Nam has always cherished the Belgian Government and people's wholehearted support for the country's post-war reconstruction and recovery.

Over more than five decades, bilateral relations have continued to strengthen across various fields, particularly politics and diplomacy, trade, agriculture, education and training, science and technology, and development collaboration. Cooperation has expanded at the federal, regional and community levels.

Belgium attaches importance to its relations with Việt Nam, speaks highly of the country's economic development and has been a valued international partner contributing to Việt Nam's progress through development cooperation programmes.

The two countries also actively coordinate at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and ASEAN-EU frameworks.

The official visits by General Secretary and President Lâm to the EU and Belgium reaffirm the importance Việt Nam attaches to both partners in its overall foreign policy and international integration strategy.

The visits are expected to consolidate political trust, deepen relations with the two partners and translate existing high-level commitments into concrete, practical actions, laying the groundwork for a new and higher stage of development in Việt Nam's relations with the EU and Belgium. — VNA/VNS