(VNA) - Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and a high-ranking delegation left Hanoi today/ on Thursday for a week of official visits to Belgium, the European Union, the UK, and Italy.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (photo: hanoimoi)

The visits are made at the invitation of Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Trong’s entourage includes Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, and Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh.