At the launching ceremony of the Whitebook and Eu-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement Outook 2018 on Mar 15th, Bruno Angelet, EU ambassador to Vietnam, said that the EU is committed to accelerating the signing of the EVFTA as soon as possible. This makes sense both for Vietnam and for the EU to focus on completing the legal framework by the end of March. At the same time, the parties prepare to implement the EVFTA roadmap.
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said that the preparations for the signing of the EVFTA were basically finished (some technical issues need further discussing).
"I believe that with goodwill, these issues will soon be resolved before summer for the offical signing of the EVFTA agreement," he said.
Vietnam's two-way trade with EU has increase 12 times, from USD4 billion to USD50 billion in the period 2000-2017, along with thousands of EU’s investment projects in Vietnam.
Negotiations have been conducted since 2015, the EVFTA opens opportunities to create an open environment for trade and investment while protectionism is of global concern.
Deputy Prime Minister said that Vietnam has benefited from the presence of EU businesses in terms of GDP growth, jobs and a friendlier business environment.
Bruno Angelet said the EU is one of the promising partners and a great opportunity for Vietnam. The financial crisis in Europe has ended and the economic recovery has been on its way faster than expected. Productivity grew significantly, with public debt being only 28% lower than that of the US.
Vietnam is an attractive investment partner of the EU in terms of of energy, health and education… Currently, the EU is cooperating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to reform green energy. In addition, the EU also supports the Ministry of Finance in improving tax collection.
>>> 3 scenarios on UK-Vietnam trade relations with Brexit and EVFTA
