Officials from Vietnam and the European Union (EU) began their fifth round of negotiations on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) on Nov. 5 in Brussels.

The two sides continue their discussions on common terms and principles for their cooperation in trade, anti-terrorism, transportation, climate change, energy and human rights.

EU chief delegate James Moran, who is the European Commission’s Director for Asia of the Directorate General for External Relations, welcomed Vietnam’s cooperative spirit through the four previous rounds and the preliminary results from previous technical meetings as a preparation for this round. He expressed his hope for concrete results at this, the fifth, round.

Vietnamese chief delegate Bui Thanh Son, who is the Assistant to the Foreign Minister, stressed that Vietnam considers partnership with the EU as a major pillar in its external policy and affirmed that both sides exerted efforts in the spirit of mutual understanding, interest and benefit, during the previous rounds of negotiations.

He said he hoped this round would reach positive results in specific areas.

The fifth round of negotiations is scheduled to end on Nov. 6./.