Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem (left) shakes hands with Governor of Walloon Brabant Gilles Mahie.

During a reception in the city on April 23 for Governor of Walloon Brabant Gilles Mahieu, Liem said the visit’s cultural, arts, and environment activities will promote ties between Ho Chi Minh City and the Wallonia-Brussels region, as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and Walloon Brabant in particular.

He thanked Belgium for providing support for Vietnam, including its supply of official development assistance for the second stage of the city’s Soai Rap river dredge project.

According to Liem, the city and Belgian localities are working together in a wide range of areas. Two-way trade surpassed 600 million USD last year, while Belgium is currently investing in 25 projects in the city.

Belgium and the Wallonia-Brussels region’s ongoing projects suit the city’s development orientations, especially in smart urban development and science-technology, he said.

Mahieu, for his part, said the visit aims to seek cooperation opportunities in priority fields such as smart city building.

He said Walloon Brabant and the Wallonia-Brussels region are home to many firms operating in innovation and artificial intelligence, and as such could partner with Ho Chi Minh City to build a smart urban area, adding that the province also wants to step up links in digital transformation for enterprises amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

According to him, the delegation held working sessions with Vietnamese universities to promote scientific collaboration. Wallonia-Brussels universities are also partnering with those in Ho Chi Minh City under various cooperation agreements. –VNA