President Võ Văn Thưởng (R) and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who is on a visit to Vietnam in her capacity as Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium. VNA Photo

 HÀ NỘI – President Võ Văn Thưởng hosted a reception in Hà Nội on May 9 for Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who is on a visit to Việt Nam in her capacity as Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium.

President Thưởng welcomed the Queen’s visit on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of strategic partnership in agriculture between Việt Nam and Belgium.

He invited King Philippe and the Queen to visit Việt Nam soon to discuss measures to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas.

Queen Mathilde shared her excitement about her upcoming trip to northern Lào Cai Province to witness the outstanding results of childcare facilities there and Việt Nam’s achievements in sustainable development. She also hopes to learn about difficulties that Việt Nam is facing in child health care and protection, especially issues related to education, nutrition, and mental health.

The Vietnamese President said for many years, the Vietnamese Party, State, and people had always paid attention to child care, education and protection, with the view of dedicating the best things to children. Along with that, Việt Nam had been fine-tuning its legal system and launching policies related to children such as poverty reduction, new rural development, education, health care and social care. Childcare work had been carried out synchronously from the central to local levels. 

He took the occasion to thank Belgium, UNICEF Belgium and Queen Mathilde for their continuous support and cooperation with Việt Nam in child protection and care, donating significant resources to help Việt Nam improve the effectiveness of the effort.

According to him, Việt Nam still faces challenges, such as the growing development gap among regions, and differences in health and nutrition among areas, especially in remote and disadvantaged regions.

The host believed that while visiting projects funded by UNICEF Belgium in Vietnamese localities, Mathilde would have the opportunity to better understand Việt Nam’s efforts, achievements and difficulties in the field.

Speaking highly of the guest’s suggestions, he wished that UNICEF Belgium would continue helping Việt Nam fine-tune policies and laws related to children, allocate resources to support Việt Nam, especially in education and health care so that Việt Nam could better care for and educate children in the future. VNA/VNS