King Philippe previously visited Vietnam in 1993, 2003, and 2012 as Crown Prince Philippe. The King has expressed his deep affection for Vietnam and holds fond memories of the country's natural beauty and the hospitality of its people.

Queen Mathilde visited Vietnam in 2012 as the Belgian Crown Princess alongside Crown Prince Philippe and returned in 2023 as the honorary president of UNICEF Belgium. She has a deep appreciation for Vietnam and enjoys visiting its local communities.

Vietnam and Belgium established diplomatic relations on March 22, 1973. Belgium is currently Vietnam’s sixth-largest trade partner within the European Union. In 2023, bilateral trade reached 3.8 billion USD, and in 2024, it increased to 4.45 billion USD, primarily involving pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, and high-tech products.

As of December 2024, Belgian investors have invested in 16 out of 63 provinces and cities across Vietnam, with 100 active projects totaling 1.1 billion USD in registered capital. Belgium ranks 23rd among 139 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises have invested in four projects in Belgium, with a total capital of 12.6 million USD, primarily in the processing and manufacturing industries.

Development cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium began in 1977 and has been carried out through various channels. Since then, Belgium has provided Vietnam with concessional loans and grants totaling nearly 300 million USD, with approximately 60% of this amount being non-repayable aid.

Since 2003, the Belgian government has annually provided around 40 postgraduate scholarships to Vietnamese students in fields such as port construction, environment, and tourism.

Additionally, Belgium has supported education and training through university and research institute partnerships with an annual aid of about 2 million euros.

Since October 2018, Vietnam and Belgium have been strategic partners in agriculture, implementing numerous technical cooperation programs between agricultural research institutes and universities.

These initiatives include developing waterway logistics systems to facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to Europe.

Both countries also cooperate in areas such as mine clearance, military medicine, military technical sciences, and the exchange and training of military personnel.

Tran Thuong