Within the framework of the official state visit of the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Belgium to Vietnam, on April 1st, 2025, the Flanders Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (FIT) in cooperation with key industry leaders organized the Workshop "Belgium - Vietnam: Partners in sustainable solutions - Building tomorrow: Vision for resilient and sustainable cities".
This event highlighted innovative approaches in sustainable construction and urban design and promoted dialogue and cooperation between Belgian and Vietnamese stakeholders in the construction sector. Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van attended and delivered the opening speech.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van hopes that through the Workshop, experts from both countries will have discussions on creative solutions to develop flexible and environmentally friendly urban areas.
In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van shared that Belgium was one of the Western European countries that officially established relations with Vietnam and has supported Vietnam through aid projects and in implementing the renovation process. Overtime, Vietnam has made advances in the field of urban development with an urbanization rate of about 44.3% by 2024. However, Vietnam’s urban system also faced several challenges inlcuding: pressure on population growth, climate change, effective resource management and ensuring a green, clean and sustainable living environment. To solve these problems, cooperation, experience sharing and application of advanced technology solutions are prerequisites.
“The Kingdom of Belgium is known as a country with a lot of experience in developing smart, sustainable cities, with optimal planning solutions, green architecture, efficient use of energy and water resources, and flexible urban management, adapting to climate change. Through this workshop, experts from both countries will have in-depth exchanges on innovative solutions to develop flexible, environmentally friendly cities, meeting the sustainable development needs of Vietnam”, Van said.
The Deputy Minister of Construction affirmed that Vietnam highly appreciated the ideas and efforts of the Flanders Investment and Trade Promotion Agency in organizing this Workshop. The Deputy Minister expressed his desire that businesses, organizations and experts from both sides would have more practical initiatives, especially in the field of climate change adaptation, prevention and mitigation of damage caused by storms, floods, and rising sea levels to urban infrastructure systems; development of energy-neutral buildings; cooperation models between the Government - Private Sector - Research Institutions - Community in solving urban issues, contributing to the realization of the vision of green, smart and future-adaptive cities.
Ms. Cieltje Van Achter - Minister of Flanders spoke at the Workshop.
On her side, Ms. Cieltje Van Achter - Minister of Flanders noted that Vietnam's construction industry is growing strongly, with an average rate of 7-8% per year, desmontrating the rapid urbanization and modernization process. Notably, by the end of 2024, about 500 projects had been granted Green Building Certification.
Flanders, Belgium’s innovation hub in the field of construction engineering, saw Vietnam as a key market in Southeast Asia. Many Flemish companies are operating in Vietnam. The Workshop showed European initiatives that could be adapted to the Vietnamese urban context in the areas of green city planning and low-emission building materials. It also highlighted Flanders’ commitment to supporting its companies to expand in Vietnam while promoting environmentally conscious development in one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing markets.
At the Workshop, delegates actively exchanged and shared experiences in two group discussions with the participation of leading experts on sustainability in urban design, from VIUP, VITO, OMGEVING, Big Capital and discussed Sustainable Construction and Building Materials, with representatives from Bekaert, SWECO, Ney & Partners and the Vietnam Green Building Council.
Seminar on Sustainability in Urban Design, with speakers from VIUP, VITO, OMGEVING and Big Capital.