Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao (right) meets with officials from the Ministry of Economy of Luxembourg. (Photo: VNA)

Brussel – Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao has paid a visit to Luxembourg during which he met with officials from a number of local ministries, organisations and corporations to seek stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the meetings, both sides showed interest in stepping up cooperative ties, given that border reopening has started worldwide post-pandemic. Cooperation in economy, finance and investment continued to be at the centre of discussions thanks to opportunities brought by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The two sides also briefed each other on the socio-economic development their respective countries last year and plans for border reopening in 2022.

Luxembourg partners affirmed that they are ready to coordinate with Vietnam to organise celebrations of the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations (1973 – 2023). The Embassy of Vietnam has been working with Luxembourg authorities and businesses to host a Vietnam – Luxembourg business forum in the European country in October.

Talking with Daniel Liebermann, who is in charge of industry and new technologies at the Ministry of Economy, Thao suggested both sides further take advantage of the EVFTA and soon finalise the ratification of the EVIPA to swiftly recover from losses caused by COVID-19.

The two officials agreed to together push for the exchange of delegations at all levels and build plans for future cooperation with focus on finance, logistics, hi-tech, tourism, and high-quality human resources training.

In the meeting with CEO of Luxembourg for Finance Nicolas Mackel, Thao highly spoke of Luxembourg’s position as a global financial hub where many world leading financial ventures are based.

Mackel, meanwhile, agreed with his proposal to help Vietnam access funding for sustainable development in the fields of innovation, smart infrastructure, green transport and startups.

The Vietnamese ambassador later had discussions with representatives of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce where the two sides pledged to provide all possible conditions for enterprises from the two countries to unleash their potential in finance, aviation, tourism and construction.

The diplomat also met with leaders of several major local companies, including cargo carrier Cargolux, manufacturer of medical refrigeration and vaccine cold chain equipment B Medical Systems, and CODIPRO, who wished to receive support from the Vietnamese Embassy to gain broader access to Vietnam and neighbouring markets.