{"id":23986,"date":"2026-06-26T04:22:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T04:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/23986\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T04:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T04:22:16","slug":"belgian-businessman-appointed-vietnams-honorary-consul-in-antwerp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/23986\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgian businessman appointed Vietnam\u2019s Honorary Consul in Antwerp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"belgian businessman appointed vietnam s honorary consul in antwerp picture 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_19_0.jpg\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\" title=\"belgian businessman appointed vietnam s honorary consul in antwerp picture 1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao (R) presents the decision appointing Belgian entrepreneur Philip Yvonne J. Van Gestel as Vietnam\u2019s Honorary Consul in Antwerp at a ceremony on June 25, 2026. (Photo: VNA)<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao expressed confidence that with his understanding of and close ties with Vietnam, Van Gestel will make meaningful contributions to advancing Vietnam \u2013 Belgium relations, supporting economic and trade connectivity as well as the protection of Vietnamese citizens in the region.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment is expected to strengthen Vietnam\u2019s consular representation network in Belgium \u2013 a country that plays an important role within the European Union (EU). Antwerp, in particular, is regarded as one of Europe\u2019s leading logistics hubs and serves as an important economic gateway linking Vietnam and Europe.<\/p>\n<p>For his part, Van Gestel said he has maintained more than three decades of cooperation and engagement with Vietnam in trade and maritime transport. He spoke positively about the Southeast Asian country\u2019s economic development and its increasingly important position in global supply chains, describing Vietnam as a gateway to Asia with considerable potential for cooperation, particularly in logistics and trade.<\/p>\n<p>He also highlighted the significance of the EU \u2013 Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and noted that it is expected to continue creating new opportunities for investment and cooperation in the time ahead.<\/p>\n<p>The Honorary Consul&#8217;s appointment carries a three-year term and covers the Flanders region \u2013 Belgium\u2019s most dynamic economic area and home to the Port of Antwerp, Europe\u2019s second-largest seaport.<\/p>\n<p>Van Gestel has extensive experience in logistics, maritime transport, maritime law and corporate governance. He has held various roles within business and port-related organisations in Antwerp and previously served in the Belgian Navy.<\/p>\n<p>      <a href=\"https:\/\/english.vov.vn\/en\/politics\/energy-key-to-vietnams-growth-through-2045-belgian-expert-post1258811.vov\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">              <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ong-eric-van-vaerenbergh.jpg\" alt=\"ong-eric-van-vaerenbergh.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"vovvn-title\" href=\"https:\/\/english.vov.vn\/en\/politics\/energy-key-to-vietnams-growth-through-2045-belgian-expert-post1258811.vov\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n        Energy \u2013 key to Vietnam\u2019s growth through 2045\u200b: Belgian expert<\/p>\n<p>      <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-2 d-none d-md-block\">\n          Vietnam has a real opportunity to achieve rapid growth through 2045, provided it fundamentally changes the way value is created and ensures a sufficiently strong and reliable energy foundation, said Eric Van Vaerenbergh, an energy expert and lecturer at the Brussels Engineering School (ECAM).\n        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao (R) presents the decision appointing Belgian entrepreneur Philip Yvonne J. Van&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[6],"tags":[19,1900,14236,14238,14237],"class_list":["post-23986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-antwerp","tag-antwerp","tag-belgian","tag-belgian-businessman","tag-honorary-consul","tag-vietnam"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116814501864095723","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}