He made the remarks at a reception for a delegation of the EU-ASEAN Business Council and the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) to discuss measures to promote economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the EU.

The meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the delegation of the EU-ASEAN Business Council and EuroCham Vietnam.

The PM affirmed Vietnam always advocates further deepening the comprehensive partnership and cooperation with EU and the strategic partnership between ASEAN and the EU.

He suggested that EU investors and businesses continue to accompany Vietnam in implementing three strategic breakthroughs, promoting three main drivers of the country’s economic development, namely investment, export and consumption; helping Vietnam access green and high-tech financial investment sources, serving the needs of sustainable development in areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, infrastructure development, high-quality human resources training and diversification of markets, products and supply chains.

In order to effectively implement the cooperative relations between Vietnam and the EU as well as between the ASEAN and the EU in the coming time, the PM called on Vietnamese and EU businesses to jointly make efforts to effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and push the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and the EU to remove the yellow card relating to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing imposed on seafood products from Vietnam. At present, 12 out of 27 EU members have ratified the EVIPA.

The delegates expressed their pleasure that the EU has become the fifth largest trading partner and the third largest export market of Vietnam while the Southeast Asian nation is the EU's largest trading partner in ASEAN. In particular, the EVFTA is an important driving force for two-way trade between Vietnam and the EU to continuously increase. Trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU reached 62.4 billion USD in 2022, an increase of 9.8% compared to 2021.

Jens Ruebbert, Vice Chairman of the EU - ASEAN Business Council said that the participation of more than 50 leaders of large enterprises in the delegation reflects the importance of Vietnam.

EuroCham Chairman Alain Cany expressed his belief in the outcome of the implementation of the EVFTA in the coming time and affirmed that EU businesses will actively promote the ratification of the EVIPA.

More than 4.4 trillion VND spent on caring for trade union members and workers during Tet

Labour federations across the country have spent more than 4.4 trillion VND on organising activities and presenting gifts to over 6.5 million trade union members and workers on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Vietnam-Australia trade hits record high in 2022

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Australia enjoyed a record year-on-year growth of 26.91% to 15.7 billion USD in 2022, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

Conference seeks more opportunities for Vietnam-Guangxi trade cooperation

The Department of Commerce of China’s Guangxi province, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Asia-Africa Market Department and Vinexad Company, held a Guangxi-Vietnam trade and economic cooperation conference in Hanoi on January 12.

Vietnam looks to boost trade with China’s special administrative region

A workshop discussing measures to promote business cooperation between Vietnam and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China was held in Hanoi on January 10.

Vietnam enjoys 11.2 billion USD trade surplus

Vietnam's total import and export turnover in 2022 is estimated at 732.5 billion USD, up 9.5% compared to 2021, of which exports increase by 10.6% and imports by 8.4%.

Source: VNA