President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives André Flahaut
expressed his support for the peaceful settlement of East Sea issues
at his meeting with Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le
Hoang Quan in Brussels on June 30.
Chairman
Quan, who is also a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central
Committee, said he hopes Flahaut, in his capacity as President of the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives, will join the international
community in raising voice against China ’s illegal placement of the
oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and
its actions further complicating the situation.
He
affirmed that Vietnam pursues the consistent policy of solving issues
through dialogues in the spirit of respecting national sovereignty and
asking China to comply with international law.
The HCM City leader also briefed the Belgian law maker on the
situation in the city, Vietnam ’s largest economic hub, which saw a
growth of 8.2 percent in the first half of 2014.
He
spoke highly of Belgium ’s support to his city, particularly the
Belgian Government’s provision of ODA capital to a project dredging the
Soai Rap River , which has just completed the second phase at an
investment of 70 million EUR.
Quan expressed his
hope that Belgium ’s new parliament will approve financial assistance
to the third phase of this project.
On this
occasion, he informed the host that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will
pay a visit to Belgium in October to boost bilateral cooperation.
For his part, Flahaut said Vietnam can be proud of its
economic attainments, adding that there is a great potential for
cooperation between Belgian and Vietnamese localities.-VNA