Brussels (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Vu QuangAnh hosted a ceremony to mark the 73rd Vietnamese National Day in Brussels onSeptember 6.

The event saw BelgianPresident of the Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke, Deputy ForeignMinister Dirk Achten, foreign diplomatic corps, and many Vietnamese peopleliving in Belgium.

The ambassador briefedhis guests on Vietnam’s development and international integration over the pastyears and spoke highly of the Vietnam-Belgium relations, which have enjoyedstrong growth in recent years. This year, the two countries are celebrating the45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, he said.

Ambassador Anh,also head of the Vietnamese Mission to the European Union, moved on tohighlight the ties between Vietnam and the EU, adding that strengthening thecomprehensive partnership with the Union has been a key pillar in Vietnam’sforeign policy and that the country treasures its sound relations with the EUand its member states.

The EU isVietnam’s second largest trade partner with the bilateral trade reaching 47.6billion EUR last year – a figure which is expect to rise to more than 50billion EUR in 2018. The EU is also the fifth biggest investor of Vietnam,injecting more than 44 billion EUR into the country, with the two sides finalisingnegotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), he said.

Deputy FM DirkAchten, for his part, said he hopes Vietnam and Belgium will ink a deal onstrategic partnership in agriculture this year or early next year at thelatest. The deal will include cooperation in agricultural technologydevelopment, food safety, food processing, and climate change response.

Achten affirmedthat Belgium backs Vietnam in the signing of the EVFTA and was delighted at theenhanced collaboration in education and science between the two countries. Healso looked forward to Vietnam and Belgium fostering multilateral activities togetherin the United Nations meetings.


The Embassy ofVietnam in Bangladesh has also held a special event to celebrate the VietnameseNational Day and the 45th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomaticrelations in Dhaka. It was attended by Bangladeshi Minister of Commerce TofailAhmed, Minister of Social Welfare and Chairman of the Workers Party Rashed KhanMenon, and others.

VietnameseAmbassador Tran Van Khoa gave his guests an overview of Vietnam’s recent socio-economicdevelopment and the steps made by the two countries, while Minister of CommerceTofail Ahmed called on the business societies of the two sides to bolsterpartnership and expand trade and investment.

At the event,performers from Vietnam brought the practices of the Mother Goddesses of ThreeRealms worship to the Bangladeshi audience for the first time.

The worship is based on an ancient system of beliefs in theincarnation of various deities channeled through mediums, and believed toprovide good health and prosperity. The ceremony showcased rites and artperformances honouring the unique values of the Mother Goddesses’cultural and historical tradition.

Itwas officially recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage ofHumanity in 2016. –VNA