Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (center) had a phone call with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Photo: VOV)

The two agreed that the traditionally friendly relationship between Vietnam and Belgium has developed in a practical and substantive way over the past 50 years, with a diversity of cooperation frameworks that bring into play the strengths of both sides, such as the 2018 Strategic Partnership on Agriculture.

Prime Minister Chinh praised Belgium's contributions to the Covax Fund, which is helping countries survive the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked the Belgian Government to help Vietnam with vaccine procurement, vaccine production technology transfer, and obtaining treatment drugs and medical equipment.

Both men stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam), and called on parties to settle disputes in a peaceful manner in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and to work toward a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).