PM to visit European countries, attend EU-ASEAN summit

He will attend the 45th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Association of Southeast Asian countries and the European Union to be held in the Belgian capital Brussels on December 14.

He will make bilateral visits to the three European nations from December 9 to 15, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Vietnam established diplomatic relations with those countries in 1973.

Belgium is Vietnam’s strategic partner in the agricultural sector. Their two-way trade reached a record 3.6 billion euros (US$3.77 million) last year and in the first five months of this year it had been worth 2.5 billion euros, up 26% year-on-year.

The Netherlands has provided official development assistance to Vietnam worth $130 million, including $100 million in non-refundable aid, mainly for education and healthcare.

In 2010 the two countries established a strategic partnership for climate change adaptation and water management, and in 2014 for sustainable agriculture and food security.

Their trade in the first 10 months of this year rose 36% to more than $9.2 billion.

Luxembourg gave Vietnam 124 million euros in non-refundable aid in 1995-2015.