EuroCham marks 20-year operation in Vietnam

HCM City (VNA) - A ceremony to honour great contributions of European firms to Vietnam’s socio-economic development was held by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) in Vietnam on November 16 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The event also aimed to review the operation of EuroCham since its establishment 20 years ago.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong highlighted the fruitful development of the Vietnam - European Union (EU) relationship over the last 28 years, as seen in the signing of the Framework Cooperation Agreement between Vietnam and the European Council (EC) in 1995; the EU-Vietnam Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation in 2012, and the completion of negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is pending signing by the EC and ratification by the European Parliament.

Phong expressed his appreciation of EuroCham's goodwill and enthusiasm in promoting the signing of the EVFTA as well as its role as the largest foreign business association with the most active contributions in Vietnam.

EuroCham is an active member of the Advisory Council to the Vietnamese Prime Minister on administrative procedure reform, and it also works alongside the Vietnam Business Forum in supporting the reform of Vietnam’s legal framework, Phong noted.

The official spoke highly of the effectiveness of EuroCham's cooperation activities in Vietnam in general, and in HCM City in particular. He affirmed that the municipal authorities have been building appropriate policies and mechanisms to create a favorable business environment for domestic and foreign enterprises, especially in the context that Vietnam has joined several new-generation free trade agreements.

For his part, Nicolas Audier, co-chairman of EuroCham stressed that EuroCham, with over 1,000 members, has become one of the biggest business associations in Asia.

In recent years, EuroCham has become a valuable voice of the community of European businesses and investors to the Government of Vietnam, he said, noting that the ties between EuroCham and central and local agencies of Vietnam, especially the People's Committee of HCM City, has contributed to continuous development of Vietnam.

Regarding EuroCham’s contributions to Vietnam’s development, Nicolas said the chamber have made efforts to promote connection between European firms with the EU’s committees, towards making Vietnam a key destination for European investors and traders.

EuroCham is also actively involved in many lobbying activities to ensure that the submission process of the EVFTA to the European Parliament will be made before the European Parliament elections which is slated for May next year.

At the ceremony, EuroCham also recognised the most successful European companies with its first-ever Business Awards.-VNA