The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, will visit
Vietnam from October 31 to November 2, which is seen as a display of the EU’s
wishes to step up cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.
The visit, the first made by an
European Council President to Vietnam since EU-Vietnam diplomatic ties were set
up in 1990, is to highlight the EU’s appreciation of the increasing role and
position that Vietnam plays in the dynamic Asian region, as well as to study
the country’s socio-economic development, renewal and international
integration.
During the visit, measures to
strengthen bilateral ties in the broader framework of the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement (PCA,) as well as at regional and international
multilateral forums will be tabled for discussion.
Since the EU officially opened
its representative mission in Hanoi in 1996, bilateral ties have developed
rapidly. The EU has become one of Vietnam ’s leading partners especially in
economics, trade and investment, making an active contribution to the country’s
socio-economic development and international economic integration.
In June 2005, the Vietnamese
Prime Minister approved a plan to develop Vietnam-EU relations by 2010 with a
view to 2015, focusing on building an ‘equal partnership with comprehensive and
long-term cooperation’ between Vietnam and the EU.
After nine rounds of talks from
June 2008 to October 2010, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) was
initialled on the sidelines of the 8 th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM-8) in Belgium
on October 4, 2010. The agreement was officially signed by Foreign Minister
Pham Binh Minh and the EU’s Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy in Brussels on June 27, 2012.
The PCA marks a milestone in
cooperation between both parties and indicates the broad development of
Vietnam-EU relations over the past 20 years, as well as creating a legal
foundation for bilateral ties to enter in a new chapter wider scope and at a
deeper level.
Senior level visits have
regularly exchanged, including Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to the
European Commission (EC) in October 2010; National Assembly Chairman Nguyen
Sinh Hung’s visit to the European Parliament (EP) in December 2011; the visit
to Vietnam by EC President Jose Manuel Barroso in November 2007; European
Commission Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht visiting in February 2010 and a
delegation from the European Parliament in March 2010.
Prime Minister Dung has met with
European Council President Herman and EC President Barroso on the sidelines of
the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul in the Republic of Korea .
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh
also met with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy Catherine Ashton, on the fringes of the 19 th ASEAN-Europe Ministerial
Meeting (AEMM-19) in Brunei in April 2012 before visiting the EU for the
official signing of the PCA in June.
During their meetings, senior
officials have stated their appreciation of bilateral ties and their wishes to
step up cooperation to match their potential and position.
On economic cooperation, the EU
is one of Vietnam ’s leading trade partners with two-way trade increasing by
15-20 per cent each year, from $4.1 billion in 2000 to $24.29 billion in 2011.
The amount exceeded $18 billion
in the first eight months of this year, up 23 per cent year on year. Of which,
Vietnam’s exports to the EU reached $2.69 billion while its import turnover was
$5.75 billion.
The EU is now Vietnam ’s second
largest export market, after the US . Vietnam exports mainly footwear, garment,
seafood, woodwork, electronics and consumer goods to the EU while it imports machinery,
vehicles, pharmaceuticals, fabrics and fertiliser from the market.
In October 2010, Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung and EC President Barosso announced the start of negotiations
for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), with the first round held in Hanoi
in October 2012.
EU member countries are now the
leading investors in Vietnam . By August 2012, 20 EU countries had invested in
Vietnam , operating 1,226 projects with a total registered capital of $4.75
billion. Vietnam has 33 projects in 10 EU countries with $107 million in
registered capital.
The EU is also the second largest
bilateral donor of official development assistance (ODA) and the largest
provider of non-refundable aid to Vietnam , with over $13 billion in ODA
pledged during 1996-2012.
The EC and EU member countries
have worked closely with Vietnam in a number of priority areas such as
institutional assistance, science and technology, education, law, health,
finance and banking, agriculture, culture and tourism.
VIR/VNA
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