Belgian citizens will no longer need a visa for short trips to Vietnam
Belgians will soon no longer need a visa to visit Vietnam. This was announced by Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday during the Belgian state visit to his country.
Residents of certain European countries, including Sweden, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, are exempt from Vietnam's visa requirement if they stay for less than 15 days. Belgians will also be granted such an exemption, the Vietnamese prime minister announced on Wednesday.
The announcement comes during Belgium's first official state visit to Vietnam in more than 50 years. "This is clearly one of the achievements of the state visit," said foreign minister Maxime Prévot. He said the presence of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium had opened the necessary doors.
"This is clearly one of the achievements of the state visit"
According to Prévot, Belgium has been asking Vietnam for such an exemption for some time, as they are an obstacle for Belgian tourists and companies wanting to do business in the country. The details and timing of the visa waiver are still being worked out, he added.
The Vietnamese prime minister is not asking Belgium to grant Vietnamese a visa waiver in return. But "Belgian attention to certain Vietnamese requests at the international and European level is of course always appreciated," he said.
Deep C
Also on Wednesday, the Belgian royal couple inaugurated the new headquarters of Deep C, a port industrial zone in northeastern Vietnam. Belgian companies CFE and Ackermans & Van Haaren have invested more than half a billion dollars there, the largest Belgian investment in Vietnam to date.
Thursday, the last day of the visit, will focus on Agent Orange, the defoliant widely used by the US during the Vietnam War, including a meeting with its victims. In 2023, Belgium became the first country to pass a resolution expressing support for Vietnamese victims of the poison.
© BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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