A year and a half after the State Visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen to Vietnam, Belgium will host Tô Lâm, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Republic, from October 21 to 24, 2026. Tô will be accompanied by a large delegation comprising several high-level officials, business leaders, and his wife, Ngô Phương Ly, who will have her own program.
A Geostrategic Dialogue
Several high-level political meetings will mark the visit. On Friday, President Tô Lâm will be received in audience by His Majesty the King at Laeken Castle. He will also attend a luncheon with Prime Minister Bart De Wever and several members of the Belgian government, followed by a visit to Parliament. The day before, Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot will meet with his counterpart, Lê Hoài Trung.
These discussions will provide an opportunity to take stock of the progress made since the State Visit in April 2025, including on Belgium’s support for Agent Orange victims and the decontamination of polluted soil in Vietnam.
The visit will also serve to reaffirm both countries’ commitment to multilateralism and respect for international law, particularly freedom of navigation.
New Prospects for Dynamic Economic Cooperation
Economic relations between Belgium and Vietnam have never been more dynamic. Bilateral trade now stands at nearly 4 billion euros, driven in particular by the free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, which entered into force in 2020.
Belgium is Vietnam’s fifth-largest European trading partner, and Vietnam ranks among Belgium’s main partners in Southeast Asia. The country also plays an important role in diversifying our trade exchanges globally and contributes to more stable supply chains— which is essential for our economy.
Belgium intends to build on this momentum and develop new opportunities, particularly in strategic and sustainable sectors such as energy, critical minerals, and technology. These prospects will be the focus of a roundtable discussion on Thursday with Vietnamese and European business leaders. A visit to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, which cooperates with the Hai Phong port cluster, will also highlight the potential of this economic partnership.
Deepening Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges
The visit will also highlight culture and people-to-people exchanges. President Tô Lâm and his spouse will visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium as well as the Royal Library of Belgium, where they will present a book symbolizing the cultural and intellectual exchanges between the two countries. Mrs. Ngô, for her part, will visit Bruges and the Magritte Museum.
This human dimension also builds on the State Visit, during which cultural and academic cooperation played a significant role.