HCMC – Vietnam and Wallonia-Brussels have approved 27 cooperation projects in multiple fields, such as high-quality personnel training in healthcare, education, law, culture, research and development, agriculture and logistics.
The projects were adopted by the Permanent Inter-Committee between the Vietnamese Government, the French Community of Belgium in the Wallonia Region and the French Community Commission in Brussels Capital Region within the framework of the 2022-2024 bilateral cooperation program at its 11th meeting on December 13 and 14.
The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong and Pascale Delcomminette, head of the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency and CEO of Wallonie Bruxelles International, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
The two sides are committed to working closely to successfully implement these projects selected for the 2022-2024 period.
During this period, Wallonia-Brussels will fund 328 working trips and provide 188 scholarships to Vietnam.
Reviewing the implementation of 25 joint projects for the 2019-2021 period, which covered various sectors including education and training, healthcare, environmental protection, culture and tourism, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong spoke highly of the success of the projects and their contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development and global integration.
According to Nicolas Dervaux, Representative of the Governments of the French-Speaking Community of Belgium and the Walloon Region in Vietnam, the Covid19 pandemic has significantly affected the implementation of the projects. This situation has required the Wallonia-Brussels and Vietnamese partners to use more effective cooperation methods such as online meetings and remote training.
Since the signing of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese Government and the Government of the French Community of Belgium in the Wallonia Region and the French Community Commission in the Brussels Capital Region in 2002, the two sides have conducted 33 official visits to foster mutual trust. During the previous 10 meetings of the Permanent Inter-Committee, 783 joint projects were approved.
More than 800 Vietnamese students and postgraduates have received scholarships for studies in Belgium, while some 2,000 experts from both sides have joined bilateral exchange programs. The bilateral cooperation mainly focused on healthcare, environmental protection, new technology, tertiary and vocational training, scientific research, culture and the French language.
