(VOVworld) – The Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium held a get-together for members of a friendship group of parliamentarians aligned with Vietnam in the European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday.

Ambassador Vuong Thua Phong, Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the European Union (L) & Jan Zahradil, President of the Group and Vice-Chair of the EP’s International Trade Committee (R) (Photo: VNA)

The event focused on reviewing the group’s work last year and discussing plans for this year. Ambassador Vuong Thua Phong, Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the European Union (EU) highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements. He said the completion of negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is an important milestone in relations between Vietnam and the EU. The ambassador expressed his hope the deal will be approved and take effect this year, for the benefit of people in Europe and Vietnam.

Jan Zahradil, President of the Group and Vice-Chair of the EP’s International Trade Committee said that as a friend of Vietnam, the group will continue maintaining close links with Vietnam, strengthening EU-Vietnam relations. He said the EVFTA deal will be ratified soon.