Brussel (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgiumand Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao has paid a visit to Luxembourg during whichhe met with officials from a number of local ministries, organisations andcorporations to seek stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.

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

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

Luxembourg partners affirmed that they are ready tocoordinate with Vietnam to organise celebrations of the 50th founding anniversaryof diplomatic relations (1973 – 2023). The Embassy of Vietnam hasbeen 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 finalisethe ratification of the EVIPA to swiftly recover from losses caused byCOVID-19.

The two officials agreed to together push for the exchange ofdelegations 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 NicolasMackel, Thao highly spoke of Luxembourg’s position as a globalfinancial hub where many world leading financial ventures are based.

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

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

The diplomat also met with leaders of several major localcompanies, including cargo carrier Cargolux, manufacturer of medicalrefrigeration and vaccine cold chain equipment B Medical Systems, and CODIPRO, who wished to receive support from the VietnameseEmbassy to gain broader access to Vietnam and neighbouring markets./.