Brussels (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s tour to Belgiumand the European Union (EU) marks important milestones for Vietnam-Belgiumrelations and the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation, adiplomat has said.

In an interview with VietnamNews Agency correspondents in Brussels ahead of the tour from October 16-19,Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and head of the Vietnamese Mission to the EUVu Anh Quang said PM Phuc’s visit has three main purposes.

First, he will pay an officialvisit to Belgium from October 16-17. During his stay, Phuc is expected to meetwith King Philippe, Prime Minister Charles Michel, President of the Chamber ofRepresentatives Siegfried Bracke, Minister-President of Flanders GeertBourgeois, and Minister-President of Wallonia Willy Borsus.

The Government leader will next attendthe 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit on October 18-19, whichwill be attended by heads of state and government of 51 member nations.

Vietnam attaches specialimportance to the role of ASEM, Quang said, adding that at the summit, PM Phucwill deliver a speech at the first session, highlighting Vietnam’s proposals tointensify Asia-Europe cooperation. The PM will also meet with participating leadersto boost bilateral relations.

Thirdly, PM Phuc will have talkswith President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, meet EuropeanParliament President Antonio Tajani, and get together with Chairperson of theEuropean Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange, theambassador added.

Regarding the Vietnam-Belgiumrelations, Ambassador Quang said the Belgium visit takes place with the twocountries celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties andthe bilateral relationship developing in all fields.

Belgium is Vietnam’s seventhlargest trading partner in the EU, with two-way trade reaching 2.7 billion USDlast year. As of August 2018, Belgium’s investment was valued at 900 millionUSD.

Many cooperative agreements willbe signed during this visit, including one on the establishment of theVietnam-Belgium Strategic Partnership in Agriculture and a memorandum ofunderstanding on cooperation between Vietnam and Flanders. In addition, acooperation programme between Vietnam and the Wallonia region for 2019-2021will be inked this November.

These agreements will lift thetwo countries’ bilateral relations to a new height, especially in fields thatBelgium has strength and the two countries hold big cooperation potential suchas high-tech agriculture, environment, clean energy, logistics services andhigh-quality human resources training.

On the Vietnam-EU relations, thediplomat said the two sides ratified a Framework Agreement on ComprehensivePartnership and Cooperation (PCA) in late 2016 and completed negotiations on aFree Trade Agreement (FTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). Theyare working towards the signing and ratification of the two agreements.

PM Phuc’s meetings with EUleaders are of great significance, helping push the signing and ratification ofthe FTA and IPA, Quang added.

The EU is Vietnam’s secondlargest trade partner and export market, with bilateral trade surpassing 50billion USD in 2017 and predicted to hit 63 billion USD this year. The bloc isVietnam’s fifth biggest investor, with a total capital of 44 billion USD.

Once the FTA and IPA becomeeffective, two-way trade between Vietnam and EU member states will surge andthere will be a new flow of investments from EU countries to Vietnam, thediplomat predicted.-VNA