Belgium's Ambassador to Viet Nam, Bruno Angelet.

(VNS) As Belgium celebrates King's Day today, Viet Nam News presents an article written by the country's Ambassador to Viet Nam, Bruno Angelet.Since 1863, Belgium has always celebrated King's Day on the 15th November, while in Viet Nam, we have also been celebrating the occasion with Vietnamese officials and friends.

Our two countries have developed an intense friendship built on co-operation over nearly forty years. This strong relationship was rejuvenated in March when the Crown-Prince of Belgium, HRH Prince Philippe, with his spouse, HRH Princess Mathilde, made an official visit to Viet Nam.

Belgium is today a vibrant, open and creative society with talent in arts, architecture, scientific research, gastronomy, fashion and design. Our rich history left us with a unique patrimony of beautiful cities. Our country has more castles per square kilometre than any other country in the world.

And with our average of 340 habitants per square kilometre, Belgium has one of the highest population densities on earth.

Home to less than 0.2 per cent of the world's population, Belgium still ranks as one of its top ten countries in terms of volume of international goods traded.

We are world leaders in the export of diamonds, pharmaceuticals, polyethylene and carpets, to name just a few sectors. With our ideal location at the heart of Europe, many major business centres are located within a 300km radius of Brussels. Exports account for more than 90 per cent of our GDP, making Belgium a true gateway to connect Viet Nam with Europe's 500 million citizens via our top quality air, sea, rail and road infrastructure.

 

Country of castles: The Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium's capital. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. — Photo courtesy Belgian Embassy

Viet Nam, as the world's 13th most populated country, holds a strategic position in Asia. Its young and dynamic population, its growing influence within ASEAN and its special relations with Europe endow Viet Nam with valuable assets. Both our countries have intense and fruitful relations, adding value for both in economic, cultural and social affairs. As Viet Nam is developing to become an industrialised country, Belgium is a useful partner in helping Viet Nam enhance its infrastructure, human resources and health sector. We look forward to supporting the Vietnamese government's efforts to develop a broader, systemic approach in those and other fields.

Our development co-operation programme with Viet Nam (2011-15) focuses on water management and sanitation, capacity building and good governance. Programmes have been formulated in the course of this year and we will soon implement new programmes in the provinces of Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan and Ha Tinh.

As our country has an excellent education system and public health sector, our universities have also developed strong relations with their Vietnamese counterparts over the years, not only in the field of education but also in the health sector. Belgium is currently offering between 70 and 80 scholarships per year for various types of training. For Masters and PhDs, the Federal Government has provided 40 scholarships annually since 2004.

Some 1,700 Vietnamese students have obtained a Master's or a PhD in Belgium to date, while Belgian business schools have trained another 1,400 Vietnamese MBA graduates.

We are also providing 20 scholarships per year for the short-term technical training of Vietnamese managers from the port sector.

Our economies contribute to each other's prosperity. Belgium is Viet Nam's sixth largest trade partner within the European Union and our bilateral trade is approaching 1 billion euros (US$1.27 billion) per year. Viet Nam has succeeded in increasing its exports, using our logistic capabilities to develop Belgium as a prime entry to the European Market.

The Port of Antwerp, Europe's second biggest port, is Viet Nam's main entry for its coffee exports to Europe and we hope to further increase this trend. Our SME's export equipment for nuclear medicine to Viet Nam and have also developed water sanitation facilities in both Southern and Northern Viet Nam.

I am very happy to see the strong interest from the Vietnamese people for Belgian and European culture and history. The whole team at the Embassy of Belgium in Ha Noi and the Consulate of Belgium in HCM City are strongly committed to carrying our friendship forward. — VNS