On 8 November the first "Flanders-Vietnam Business Forum" took place in the Port House in Antwerp. Vietnam, the Vietnamese market and the many business opportunities that the country has to offer were the central topics of this seminar that Flanders Investment & Trade organized together with the Vietnamese embassy, Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs, FITA and the Belgian Vietnamese Alliance.
The EU and Vietnam, one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, signed a free trade agreement this summer that is expected to come into force in the course of 2020. “How can my business benefit from the EU-Vietnam FTA and economic growth in Vietnam? "Was therefore the main theme of the seminar that was opened by Claire Tillekaerts (FIT) and Vu Anh Quang, ambassador of Vietnam.
Secretary-General Bynens cited in her closing speech that "with this seminar Flanders and Vietnam once again underline that the cooperation is intense, genuine and full of potential" and referred to the recent statement of the new Government of Flanders that explicitly mentioned Vietnam as an important partner for future relationships.
