On the morning of October 27, within the framework of his working trip to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the European Council Antonio Costa.
At the meeting, Mr. Antonio Costa affirmed that the EU highly appreciates the role and position, especially the economic development achievements of Vietnam, as well as the fact that the two sides are discussing upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
At the same time, he affirmed that the EU wishes to promote cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the fields of trade and investment, green transformation, digital transformation, responding to global challenges, and strengthening the international law-based order.
The EU is one of Vietnam's leading important partners. Investment from Europe to Vietnam increased sharply in the 2010-2019 period, stagnated due to Covid-19, and then recovered from 2022 with larger project scales. As of last year, the EU had about 2,450 projects with a total capital of more than 30.6 billion USD; of which projects from the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg and Germany accounted for over 20 billion USD. Capital flows were mainly poured into technology, service, and high value-added industries.
Trade in goods between Vietnam and 27 EU markets continued to grow strongly in the first half of this year. Total import-export turnover reached nearly 36 billion USD, of which Vietnam exported 27.3 billion USD to the EU (up 10%), and imported 8.4 billion USD from the EU (up 6.4%). Vietnam's trade balance with the EU was in a surplus of 19 billion USD, up 11.6%.
Regarding the orientation of Vietnam-EU cooperation in the coming time, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides promote the exchange of high-level delegations, agree on a roadmap to upgrade bilateral relations, cooperate in trade and investment, and make science, technology and innovation the pillars of bilateral cooperation.
According to the Prime Minister, the two sides need to make full use of the opportunities brought about by the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and coordinate to remove obstacles for businesses. He suggested that the EU pay attention to promoting the remaining EU countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and encouraged European businesses to invest in Vietnam's key projects on infrastructure, renewable energy, and green transformation.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister affirmed Vietnam's political determination and drastic efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. He suggested that the European Commission (EC) should soon send an IUU inspection team to Vietnam to assess and remove the IUU yellow card.
The Prime Minister shared that he chairs weekly meetings with ministries and localities in the country on this issue. At the same time, he said that Vietnam is promoting cooperation with countries, including Southeast Asian countries, to develop sustainable fisheries, increase capacity for fishermen and businesses in responsible exploitation, and gradually shift from fishing to sustainable aquaculture.
The Government leader highly appreciated and affirmed that Vietnam supports the EU's Global Gateway Initiative. "Vietnam actively supports ASEAN - EU relations and Vietnam will continue to be a gateway to connect and strengthen relations between the EU and Southeast Asia," he said.
For his part, President of the European Council Antonio Costa agreed to coordinate to promote the priorities outlined by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Discussing the international and regional situation, the President of the European Council agreed that the two sides should increase coordination to promote multilateral cooperation, affirming that the EU currently prioritizes strengthening relations with ASEAN and countries in the region.
In the context of the uncertain world and regional situation, the President of the European Council highly appreciated Vietnam's constructive approach to peace and security issues, and Vietnam's viewpoint on the fundamental principles of international law.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh invited the President of the European Council and EU leaders to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. The President of the European Council affirmed that he would soon arrange the visit.