PM’s visits to open new cooperation chances with European countries

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visits to Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium are expected to open up new opportunities for Vietnam to foster partnership with the three European countries, according to experts.
PM’s visits to open new cooperation chances with European countries ảnh 1Upturn has been seen in exports of footwear to EU (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’svisits to Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium are expected to open up newopportunities for Vietnam to foster partnership with the three Europeancountries, according to experts.

Vietnam set up the diplomatic relations with those countries in 1973.

Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showedthat trade between Vietnam and Luxembourg rose 60% over a year earlier to more than 181.5million USD in 2021.

As of October, Vietnam’s exports to the country topped 101 million USD, up 50% year on year, while imports were 50.1 million USD,a rise of 11%. Vietnam mostly exported garment and footwear products toLuxembourg, while importing fibre and chemicals from the country.

Although Luxembourg is a small country with a population ofnearly 500,000, it is the financial centre of Europe, which is a good source ofsoft loans for developing countries, including Vietnam.

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) isworking to connect the business communities, especially as the two countriesare important logistics gateways to the ASEAN and EU.

During the PM’s visit, the ministry will hold a ceremony tosign a memorandum of understanding between the Trade Promotion Agency and the LuxembourgChamber of Commerce in building the database on the business communities of thetwo countries, aiming to optimise their strengths in finance, aviationtransport, tourism and construction.

According to the MoIT’s European-American Market Department,among the EU members, the Netherlands is one of the leading trade partners ofVietnam, as it is a gateway to the EU and one of the largest logisticscentres in the region. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expectedto bring about new cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

In the recent five years, trade between Vietnam and theNetherlands has increased about 6.3% each year.

The Netherlands is the sixth largest export market ofVietnam and biggest among the EU members, with two-way trade exceeding 9.22 billionUSD in the first 10 months of 2022, including Vietnam’s exports of over 8.67billion USD.

The country is running 409 investment projects worth nearly13.7 billion USD in Vietnam, mostly in agriculture, industry, and food andbeverage.
Meanwhile, according to the General Department of VietnamCustoms, Belgium is the sixth largest European trade partner of Vietnam. Before the COVID-19 broke out, two-way trade rose 6-10% each year.

After a fall of 10% in 2020, the growth rate surged to 53.8%in 2021 to 4.29 billion USD, including Vietnam’s imports of 3.6 billion USD. InOctober 2022, Vietnam exported 3.44 billion USD, up 219.9%.

Experts held that Vietnam and Belgium have supplementarygoods structures. Vietnam is Belgium’s supplier of footwear, garment products,coffee and aquatic products. Meanwhile, Belgium has provided Vietnam with pharmaceuticals,gems, machineries and equipment.

Belgium has high demand for agro-fisheries products andtraditional handicrafts, which are Vietnam’s strengths.

With the EVFTA serving as foundation, bilateral investment andtrade partnership is expected to recover and record new steps forwards, especiallythat of shared interest such as logistics, agricultural product and food processing,and energy.

Therefore, PM Chinh’s trip to attend a summit commemoratingthe 45th anniversary of the ASEAN-EU relations and to pay official visits toLuxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium from December 9 to 16 is expected to resultin new partnership opportunities between Vietnam and the three countries./.
VNA

See more

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the 21st meeting of the State steering committee for national key projects in the transport sector. (Photo: VNA)

Entire Cao Bang - Ca Mau expressway must be inaugurated on December 19: PM

PM Chinh, who is head of the steering committee, asked all parties involved to strive hard to achieve the goal of putting 3,000 kilometres of expressways and approximately 1,700 kilometres of coastal roads into operation in 2025, thus creating momentum to welcome the 14th National Party Congress and meeting the travel needs of the people during New Year 2026 and the Lunar New Year Festival.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (C) presides over the 21st meeting of the State steering committee for national key projects in the transport sector. (Photo: VNA)

Government leader presides over meeting on national key transport projects

Noting that there are less than two months left until December 19 - the date set for the simultaneous ground-breaking and inauguration ceremonies of major projects, the PM emphasised that this is a crucial period to accelerate progress and make breakthroughs in the implementation of key projects and works.

Harvesting cage-farmed tilapia (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam exports first shipment of tilapia to Brazil

This shipment is one of 32 containers, totalling 700 tonnes of tilapia, ordered and imported by JBS Group from Vietnam. The products will first be distributed through HORECA supermarket and distribution network, and showcased in JBS's product display centre in Brazil.

Road leading to VSIP Can Tho at the intersection with National Highway 80 (Photo: VNA)

Green industry lures more FDI to Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta region, having earned the monikers of the rice bowl, fruit and seafood basket of the country, and following the restructuring of administrative units, is now standing at the threshold of becoming a modern, sustainable industrial centre.

The codification of Resolution 42 into the law, effective from mid this month, is an important step, marking a key milestone in completing Vietnam’s NPL resolution process. (Photo: thoibaonganhang.vn)

Bad debt settlement fully benefits from new policy from H2 2026

Resolution 42, enacted in 2017 to pilot bad debt settlement for credit institutions, was introduced in response to a sharp rise in non-performing loans (NPLs). It empowered credit institutions to seize and liquidate collateral assets, expediting debt recovery. After more than six years of implementation, the resolution delivered certain results but expired last year.

The total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue were estimated at 5.7 quadrillion VND for the first 10 months of the year. (Photo: VNA)

Retail sales growth remains stable over 10 months

With the current recovery momentum, the trade and services sector is expected to continue being a bright spot in Q4, driving GDP growth and ensuring a balance between domestic consumption and exports amid ongoing global economic fluctuations.

Delegates at the event (Photo: Ministry of Finance)

ASEAN meeting to drive regional cooperation, growth by removing barriers

Running from November 5–11, CCS 111 focuses on advancing service liberalisation and facilitation in ASEAN by removing barriers, enhancing transparency, reducing policy risks, and simplifying administrative procedures to enable businesses and service providers to operate more efficiently.

Goods at Hai Phong Port in northern port city of Hai Phong. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam determined to build transparent global trade system

The Government of Vietnam on November 6 updated the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Committee on Rules of Origin (CRO) on adjustments to the agencies and organisations authorised to issue certificates of origin (C/O), as well as on the application of QR codes in the C/O issuance process.

SemiExpo Vietnam 2025, themed “Powering Vietnam’s Semiconductor Ambition,” brings together around 5,000 delegates and feature 200 booths from major global technology corporations (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam opens largest int’l semiconductor exhibition

SemiExpo Vietnam 2025, themed “Powering Vietnam’s Semiconductor Ambition,” brings together around 5,000 delegates and feature 200 booths from major global technology corporations such as Lam Research, Coherent, Qorvo, Amkor, GlobalFoundries, Micron, Tokyo Electron, KLA, STMicroelectronics, Soitec, and Siemens.

Consumers learn about Hanoi's OCOP products. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi launches digital booths to promote e-commerce

Hanoi will open an online store showcasing Hanoi's products on the e-commerce platform Shopee. It will introduce digital tools such as electronic signatures, e-contracts, e-invoices, and product traceability systems for local producers and businesses participating in the booth.