HCM City, Belgium’s Antwerp province bolster cooperation
Ho Chi Minh City wants to step up cooperation with Belgium’s Antwerp province in the fields where the latter has strengths such as seaport development, smart urban building and renewable energy, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong has said.
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) shakes hands with Governor of Belgium’s Antwerp province Cathy Berx. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City wants to step up cooperationwith Belgium’s Antwerp province in the fields where the latter has strengthssuch as seaport development, smart urban building and renewable energy, Chairmanof the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong has said.
Hosting a reception for Governor of Belgium’s Antwerp province Cathy Berx onNovember 13, Phong laid stress on the robust economic cooperation betweenBelgium and the Vietnamese southern hub. However, the results still lag behindpotential and advantages of both sides, he said.
Phong spoke highly of Antwerp province’s strengths, and pledged to createfavourable conditions for Antwerp enterprises who want to study businessopportunities and promote investment in the city.
Berx, for her part, said that both localities hold hugepotential to cooperate in development of smart cities, construction of greenurban areas, and sustainable development.
Together with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and InvestmentProtection Agreement (IPA), cooperation between HCM City and Antwerp will makecontributions to realising the target of 3 billion USD in bilateral trade inthe time ahead as set by the two government’s leaders, she stated.
The governor affirmed that Antwerp stands ready to share experience with HCMCity in smart urban area development, including building of an open datawarehouse, management of seaports and logistic services by smart technologies,and waste treatment.
Antwerp is willing to coordinate with HCM City to organise conferencesdiscussing cooperation measures so as to bring benefits to enterprises andpeople of both sides.
To date, Belgian businesses have registered 6.5 million USD in 25 projects in HCMCity.
In the past years, Antwerp and the Vietnamese city have carried out a number ofcooperative activities such as improving capacity for seaport managers andexchanging experience in using advanced technologies to manage seaports./.
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Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) shakes hands with Governor of Belgium’s Antwerp province Cathy Berx. (Photo: VNA) 
