Jointly organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Departmentof Trade Promotion and the Wallonie region’s Trade and InvestmentPromotion Agency, the November 28 event aims at boosting strongerVietnam-EU trade ties.

Addressing the event, Vo Ta Luong, DeputyDirector of the ministry’s Department of Trade Promotion for Southernregion said Vietnam and EU have set up a comprehensive cooperation inall fields, including trade, investment, judiciary cooperation,security, and the climate change.

The two sides are close to thesigning of an EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is expectedto bring benefits as well as challenges to Vietnam’s key sectors, Luongsaid, the

According to Jean Claude Marcourt, Vice President ofthe Wallonie Government stated Belgium and the Wallonie region inparticular always welcome foreign investors.

With its potentialalong with advantages of geography and infrastructure, Belgium is one ofthe six most attractive destinations for foreign investors in Europe.Through Belgian market, especially the Wallonie region, foreigninvestors will have opportunities to access 65 percent of Europeanmarkets, Marcourt noted.

The EU is Vietnam’s leading economicand trade partner. In the recent years, two-way trade between the twosides increased by 15-20 percent annually.

Belgium is amongVietnam’s most important trade partners in the EU with two-way trade in2013 hitting 1,825 million USD, up 17 percent over a year earlier. Inthe first ten months of this year, Vietnam’s export turnover to Belgiumgained 1,489 million USD.-VNA