Vietnam is an ideal destination for Cyprus enterprises, with great opportunities to be opened up with the signing of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy and Cyprus Nguyen Hoang Long during a Vietnam-Cyprus business forum on June 19.

Addressing a crowd of Cyprus business executives at the forum, the ambassador noted that besides the FTA with the EU, Vietnam has signed a number of free trade agreements with partners and is negotiating for similar deals with other countries and regions.

The scheduled formation of the ASEAN Community of which Vietnam is a member is also a favourable condition for Cyprus businesses to invest in Vietnam and expand operation to regional markets, according to the ambassador.

During the forum, participants also shared ideas on how to make it easier for enterprises of both sides to meet and connect.

The same day, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long had a meeting with Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who spoke highly of efforts that the Vietnamese Embassy as well as Ambassador Long have made to boost the bilateral friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Vietnam and Cyprus set up diplomatic relations on December 1, 1975. Currently, around 12,000 Vietnamese expatriates live in Cyprus.-VNA