Gov’t reaffirms wish to boost trade, investment ties with EU

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc expresses his belief the EVFTA, one signed and ratified, would help strengthen and broaden trade and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the EU. Photo: VGP

The two-way trade has advanced quickly, to approximately US$50 billion last year, making the EU the second biggest importer of Vietnamese goods.

Noticeably, Viet Nam’s exports to the EU grew 12.7 %, allowing the Southeast Asian country to gain a trade surplus of around US$31.8 billion last year.

The Government chief tasked ministries and agencies to focus on improving Viet Nam’s business environment and  streamlining administrative procedures in a bid to further facilitate trade and investment links with the EU.

He also urged ministries and agencies to work with the EU side to speed up the signing and ratification of the Viet Nam-EU free trade agreement (EVFTA) within this year in order to strengthen and broaden trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.

Viet Nam and the EU launched and concluded negotiations for the trade deal in 2012 and in 2015, respectively. Also in 2012, the sides signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in October 2016, offering a solid foundation to intensify their relations.

The EU considers the FTAs with individual ASEAN countries as stepping stones towards an agreement in the regional framework, which remains the ultimate goal./.

By Quang Minh