EU is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner (Photo: VNA) This is a common assessment made by European politicians,experts and entrepreneurs on the threshold of a commemorative summit tocelebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations slated forDecember 14 in Brussels, Belgium.
First Vice President of the Belgian Senate Andries Gryffroysaid that Vietnam has an important strategic geological position in theIndo-Pacific, and its economy is currently an important link in the supplychain and economic value of ASEAN with many advantages such as: a stable macroenvironment, a dynamic economy, an increasingly open consumer market, a stablepolitical background and consistency in investment policies for economicdevelopment.
Therefore, Vietnam plays an important role in the relationshipbetween ASEAN and the EU, he stressed.
Also emphasising Vietnam's role as a bridge between ASEANand the EU, Jeroen Cooreman, who is in charge of bilateral relations at theBelgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Vietnam's commitment on renewableenergy development, green and sustainable development and digitaltransformation are in line with Belgium's priorities as well as theEU's agenda.
Meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and representatives from European Investment Bank (Photo: VNA) The Vietnam-EU relationship is said to be at its best ever. From an aid recipient,Vietnam has now become an equal and mutually beneficial partner of the EU.
Statistics of the European Institute for Asian Studies showthat the EU is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner, third largest export marketand fifth biggest import market. Two-way trade reached 57.1 billion EUR (60.2billion USD) in the first nine months of this year, up 10.3% year-on-year.
The union is also the fifth largest investor in Vietnam, with atotal registered capital of 27.6 billion USD as of August 2022. In theJanuary-August period alone, EU businesses poured 2.2 billion USD in Vietnam,up 69.6% year-on-year./.
VNA
