William Asselborn

🇻🇳 A pleasure to welcome my Vietnamese counterpart, Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung, to the Egmont Palace today. When I accompanied Their Majesties the King and Queen on their State Visit to Vietnam last year, we saw first-hand the strength of our relations and the opportunities ahead. This week, we are building on that momentum. With nearly €4 billion in bilateral trade, there is considerable potential to bring our economies closer together. From clean energy and technology to critical minerals, port cooperation and more resilient supply chains, Vietnam is an increasingly important partner for Belgium in Southeast Asia. And Belgium is equally a key partner for Vietnam in Europe, home to Europe's second-largest port, a major logistics hub and Brussels at the heart of European decision-making. But our partnership goes well beyond trade. We discussed our commitment to multilateralism and the importance of upholding international law, including freedom of navigation. Belgium also remains committed to supporting the victims of Agent Orange and efforts to restore contaminated land. Tomorrow, together with Prime Minister Bart De Wever, I look forward to meeting President Tô Lâm and continuing our discussions. @BelgiumMFA @MOFAVietNam

🇷🇸 Ratko Mladić is a convicted war criminal. The Butcher of Bosnia was found guilty of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He epitomises some of the worst atrocities of our European history, not least the genocide of Srebrenica. It is shameful and disrespectful for the victims and their families to reserve such honours for his funerals. I condemn that act in the strongest terms, and have passed this message to my Serbian counterpart in charge of European affairs this morning. It’s a step distancing Serbia from EU’s fundamental values of respect for human dignity, human rights and the fight against impunity - going in the opposite direction of what is expected from a EU candidate country. @BelgiumMFA

🇮🇳 Today, I had the pleasure of welcoming my counterpart @DrSJaishankar to Brussels for the first Belgium-India Strategic Dialogue. Belgium and India already have a strong relationship. We see it in trade and investment, in the growing cooperation between our businesses and researchers, and in the many exchanges between our people. Last year’s Belgian Economic Mission to India confirmed that there is a real willingness, on both sides, to deepen that relationship. The launch of this Strategic Dialogue gives our cooperation a stronger political framework. By meeting regularly, we can build on what already exists and work more closely together in areas such as clean energy, innovation, security and defence. I particularly appreciated the open and constructive exchange with Dr. Jaishankar. I am grateful for his friendship and for his commitment to taking the Belgium-India partnership a step further. @BelgiumMFA @BelgiuminIndia

🇶🇦 To His is Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and to the Qatari people, I convey my heartfelt condolences after the passing away of His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, a recognized leader who laid the foundations of contemporary Qatar. It was under the tenure of Sheikh Hamad that Qatar’s first permanent constitution was promulgated and that municipal elections in which women were allowed to vote and stand as candidates were introduced. The legacy of HH Sheikh Hamad will be long remembered. @BelgiumMFA @BelgiuminQatar

🇲🇾 Second stop in South-East Asia: Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is emerging as a key player against a backdrop of shifting international power dynamics, rising geopolitical and trade tensions, and the vulnerability of supply chains. During my address at the Asia-Pacific Roundtable, organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (@ISIS_MY), one of the region’s leading strategic think tanks, I emphasised the importance of multilateralism, a rules-based world order, and links between Asia and the European Union, at a time of shifting geopolitical dynamics. Now more than ever, the Indo-Pacific and Europe must strengthen their cooperation and position themselves as reliable and committed long-term partners. I also had the opportunity to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Haji Fadillah Yusof @PetraJayaMP @MalaysiaMFA and was received by the Sultan of Perak, His Royal Highness Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, in a state where several Belgian companies are already active. Trade, investment, sustainable energy, the regional situation and access to critical raw materials were at the heart of our discussions. I also took an interest in the LuMIC (Lumut Maritime Industrial City) project, a flagship initiative of the European Global Gateway strategy, which aims to develop sustainable infrastructure on a global scale. Run by a joint venture between the Antwerp Port Authority @PortofAntBruges and the Malaysian state of Perak, it brings Belgian port expertise to the heart of one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors. I also visited the facilities of @MaterialiseNV , which specialises in 3D printing for the medical sector (facial reconstruction, prosthetics, etc.), @ADBSAFEGATE, a Belgian company and world leader in airport security, and finally the Asian subsidiary of the Belgian company @larianstudios , a major player in digital creation and gaming. These three companies demonstrate the diversity of our country’s presence and expertise in Malaysia. I also had the pleasure of speaking with the extremely dynamic Belgian community living there, as well as with various representatives of civil society. Malaysia also possesses significant reserves of rare earth elements. These metals are used in the manufacture of electric cars, wind turbines, electronic equipment and defence materiel. Their extraction and processing are currently largely concentrated in China, which leaves European industry heavily dependent on that country. Hence the importance, for Belgium, of diversifying its economic partnerships. Cooperation between our two countries – which already exists through @SolvayGroup – could strengthen European resilience, secure the supply chain for our industries and create new opportunities for Belgian businesses. @BelgiumMFA @BelgiumMalaysia

🇵🇭 The first stop on my mission to South-East Asia: Manila in the Philippines, at the occasion of the 80th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. This region is a real driving force behind the global economy, with an expected growth rate of 5 per cent in 2026! And the vast majority of ASEAN countries are strong defenders of a rules-based order. We must be more active there as part of a strategy to diversify our partnerships, so that the region can become an even stronger ally for Europe in multilateralism and in key areas such as trade, technology, energy, maritime affairs, defence, critical minerals… In particular, I met with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs @SecLazaro and the Secretary of National Defence @Gilbert_TeodoJR. The development of our trade relations notably via the future FTA with the EU, maritime cooperation, regional security and the international geopolitical situation were at the heart of our discussions. As the Minister also responsible for development cooperation, I met with several civil society organisations and visited a community health programme that provides support to the most disadvantaged families. Furthermore, I also visited the Asian Development Bank and a Belgian-Filipino maritime catering training centre, IFS, which combines innovation and social commitment and has become a global benchmark thanks to the initiative of a fellow Belgian. Finally, I was also lucky enough to meet many Belgians who have decided to set up businesses in the Philippines and export our Belgian expertise there! @BelgiumMFA