The European Union (EU) is one of the leading partners of Vietnam in various fields, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has affirmed.

While meeting with European businesses in Hanoi on September 26, Hai further said that Vietnam always attaches importance to boosting relations with the EU and its member countries.

The Vietnamese Government has built a comprehensive plan on Vietnam-EU relations, he said, adding that the two sides have launched negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, expected to bring about many economic benefits and facilitate two-way trade and import-export activities as well as boost the EU direct investment in Vietnam.

With this agreement, Vietnam may serve as a bridge for EU businesses’ trade and investment activities in Southeast Asia, he noted, affirming that the Vietnamese Government’s policy is to provide the best support for investors’ operations in face of the current difficulties caused by the world economy.

The Deputy PM and EU businesses shared information on Vietnam’s socio-economic development policies as well as political and economic cooperation between Vietnam and EU countries.

They put forth measures to ease difficulties for EU businesses so that they can expand their operations and seek new opportunities in the Vietnamese market.

The participants also discussed new opportunities for Vietnam-EU business and investment cooperation.-VNA