Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung. Photo: VNA  

Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung has described the visits to Denmark, the European Union (EU) and Belgium by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam as a success that has elevated Vietnam’s relations with the three partners across the board, opening new opportunities for substantive cooperation in support of Vietnam’s rapid and sustainable development.

At the invitations of King Frederik X of Denmark, European Council President António Costa and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, General Secretary and President Lam, his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid a state visit to Denmark, and the official visits to the EU and Belgium, from October 19–24.

Trung said this was the first state visit to Denmark by a Vietnamese Party chief, and the first official visits by General Secretary and President Lam to the EU and Belgium since Vietnam successfully held the 14th National Party Congress and elected deputies to the 16th National Assembly.

The visits hold a great significance, reflecting Vietnam’s high regard for its European partners as well as their respect for Vietnam. They also help consolidate Vietnam’s foreign relations, expand its network of trusted partners, and strengthen the country’s ties with Europe at both bilateral and regional levels.

The visits yielded important and substantive outcomes, underpinned by strong political commitment and shared strategic orientations.

Denmark regards Vietnam as a leading partner and a strategic gateway to Southeast Asia. The visits reaffirmed Vietnam’s position as a key partner of Denmark in green and sustainable development, particularly in green and smart seaports, renewable energy and efforts to strengthen self-reliance and create new drivers of growth amid profound global changes.

The visit marked a historic milestone in the countries’ traditional friendship. Denmark has consistently supported Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification, post-war reconstruction and development during the Doi Moi (renewal) process. At high-level meetings and exchanges, leaders highlighted the strong foundation of friendship built over 55 years and the longstanding ties between the Danish Royal Family and Vietnam.

The Danish side applauded Vietnam’s development achievements as well as the vision and orientations of its leaders, particularly General Secretary and President Lam. It also expressed optimism about future cooperation, highlighting the top Vietnamese leader’s assessments and proposals at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

A landmark outcome was the agreement to upgrade bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, making Denmark the second EU member state to establish this level of partnership with Vietnam. The new framework is expected to lift cooperation in politics, external affairs, economy, science and technology, and education and training to a new level. Both sides identified economic, trade and investment cooperation as a key pillar, while prioritising renewable energy, offshore wind power, green transition, seaports, logistics and green maritime transport.

For the EU, Trung said discussions between General Secretary and President Lam and the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, together with recent visits by Vietnamese leaders to Europe, had strengthened mutual understanding and political trust while creating new frameworks for cooperation. These engagements also supported Vietnam’s policy of multilateralisation and diversification of external relations and helped consolidate a favourable external environment.

Cooperation is expanding beyond trade, investment attraction and technology transfer towards closer links among research institutions, universities and businesses, Trung said, noting that joint research, development and technology application, co-created products and deeper participation in value and supply chains are expected to help Vietnam better harness European knowledge, technology and innovation while strengthening its economic autonomy and competitiveness.

During the visit, the two sides discussed science and technology, innovation, critical raw materials, strategic infrastructure, the circular economy and marine economy. They also sought to make better use of cooperation mechanisms, including Global Gateway, the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and Horizon Europe. The two sides agreed to strengthen strategic dialogue and expand cooperation into new areas, including defence and security, maritime security and responses to non-traditional security challenges.

For Belgium, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives' ratification of the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) shortly before the official activities of the visit sent a positive signal of Belgium’s goodwill and regard for ties with Vietnam, Trung said.

Senior leaders of the two countries agreed on a vision of upgrading bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership, reflecting the expanding scope of cooperation beyond the existing sectoral strategic partnership in agriculture, he added.

According to the FM, the visit also opened up new cooperation opportunities aligned with Vietnam’s development needs and Belgium’s strengths, towards flagship projects in seaports, logistics, clean energy, science and technology, and high-quality human resource training. Engagements with Belgian regions and localities, alongside federal-level discussions, further broadened and deepened bilateral ties.

Trung said leaders and business communities from the three partners highly valued Vietnam’s development policies, particularly the Government’s efforts to improve institutions in coordination with the National Assembly, develop infrastructure and enhance workforce quality. They also expressed a desire for Vietnam to continue building a more stable, transparent, consistent and predictable legal and policy environment to facilitate long-term cooperation and investment.

The visits also carried significance for work involving overseas Vietnamese (OVs). General Secretary and President Lam met representatives of Vietnamese communities in the Nordic countries and across Europe, including representatives from 10 European countries. The meetings provided opportunities to share information about Vietnam, hear the community’s concerns and aspirations, and encourage Vietnamese expats to integrate into their host societies, contribute positively to the countries and maintain ties with their homeland. European partners also recognised the contributions of Vietnamese communities in their countries.

Another notable outcome was the mobilisation of resources for Vietnam’s socio-economic development. At economic and trade forums and business meetings, European corporations and companies presented planned projects and investment proposals in Vietnam with a preliminary combined value of around 20 billion EUR (over 22.4 billion USD). Various cooperation documents and agreements were also signed by ministries, sectors, localities and businesses.

Vietnam and its partners agreed to make more effective use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), promote trade and investment, and address outstanding obstacles. Vietnam called on the remaining EU member states to ratify EVIPA and urged the EU to lift its “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. At the multilateral level, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism, the UN Charter, international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes. They also agreed to strengthen coordination at multilateral forums, promote ASEAN-EU relations and contribute to peace, stability and sustainable development in their respective regions and worldwide.

Regarding priorities for implementing the outcomes, the FM said the key task was to turn shared understandings, commitments and high-level agreements into concrete programmes, projects and deliverables.

Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities will work closely with partners to develop action plans with clear responsibilities, timelines, resources and expected results, while actively considering their specific proposals.

The sides will also make better use of existing cooperation mechanisms and EVFTA, advance EVIPA ratification and strengthen compliance with EU market requirements on the environment, sustainable development, traceability and social responsibility, enabling businesses to participate more deeply in value and supply chains.

Priority will be given to feasible and strategic projects with tangible outcomes. For Denmark, the focus will be on energy transition, offshore wind power, seaport infrastructure and green logistics. With the EU, Vietnam will proactively propose projects under Global Gateway, JETP and Horizon Europe, as well as in strategic technology fields. For Belgium, cooperation will target seaports, logistics, clean energy, science and technology, and high-quality workforce training.

Trung also stressed the role of ministries, localities, businesses, universities and research institutes in proactively identifying and implementing cooperation opportunities. He said that linking research with businesses and markets, and shifting from technology acquisition towards joint research, production and product development, will help Vietnam gradually strengthen its capacity to master technologies.

He expressed strong confidence that, with political determination from leaders on all sides and proactive, innovative and practical efforts by ministries, localities, businesses and research institutions, Vietnam’s relations with Denmark, the EU and Belgium will continue to deepen and deliver tangible benefits for their peoples, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world./.