Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever welcomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

BRUSSELS — Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever hosted an official welcome ceremony for General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm at Egmont Palace in Brussels at Friday noon (local time), as part of his official visit to Belgium.

As the car carrying the Vietnamese leader arrived at Egmont Palace, PM De Wever welcomed him with a handshake, while a military band played “Aux Champs” in salute.

The two leaders introduced officials from their respective delegations before proceeding to the ceremonial position in front of the national flags of Việt Nam and Belgium. In a solemn atmosphere, the military band performed the national anthems of both countries.

Following the ceremony, PM De Wever and General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, accompanied by high-ranking delegations from both countries, held talks.

Over more than five decades of diplomatic relations, established in 1973, Việt Nam and Belgium have steadily strengthened their ties across a range of areas, particularly politics-diplomacy, trade, agriculture, education-training, science-technology, and development cooperation at the federal, regional and community levels.

Belgium attaches importance to its relationship with Việt Nam, values the country’s economic development and has made positive contributions to Việt Nam’s development through development cooperation programmes. The two countries have also actively coordinated at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the ASEAN-EU framework.

In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between Việt Nam and Belgium has grown rapidly and continued to deepen. Belgium is currently Việt Nam’s sixth-largest trading partner in the EU, while Việt Nam is Belgium’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

The top Vietnamese leader’s official visit comes as bilateral relations are underpinned by favourable conditions following more than 50 years of diplomatic ties and eight years of Strategic Partnership in agriculture, established in 2018, with strong political trust and increasingly deep mutual understanding and engagement.

The visit is expected to elevate Việt Nam-Belgium relations to a new level and create breakthroughs in cooperation in areas where both countries have strengths. — VNA/VNS