VGP – EC President José Manuel Barroso will pay second official visit to Viet Nam from August 25-26 in the context that the relations between the European Union and Viet Nam are developing vigorously and comprehensively.
PM Nguyen Tan Dung and EC President Jose Manuel Barroso on the sidelines of the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit in La Haye, the Netherlands, March 2014 - Photo: VNA
The two sides signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and launched free trade agreement (FTA) talks in 2012.
The FTA, once inked, will increase opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to export to the Union, Mr. Barroso told Viet Nam News Agency in an exclusive interview ahead of the visit.
The two way trade grew 20% annually to US$37 billion in 2013, making the EU the second biggest trade partner of Viet Nam.
The EU is also Viet Nam’s biggest donor, with the total committed volume of €400 million for the period of 2014-2020, compared to €300 million for the period of 2007-2013.
Mr. Barroso said he highly valued Viet Nam’s role as the coordinator for the EU-ASEA dialogue relations.
Since Viet Nam introduced its renewal process and joined the World Trade Organization, the country has witnessed spectacular socio-economic development, according to the EC President, adding that people’s living standards have remarkably improved, inflation and exchange rate have been stabilized.
As a middle-income country, Viet Nam needs to further modernize its economy and FTAs take an important role in this process.
Regarding the East Sea issue, President Barroso reaffirmed that the EU attaches importance to peace and stability in the region, encouraging relevant parties to seek peaceful measures to settle the issue through dialogue and cooperation in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Mr. Barroso expressed his belief in Viet Nam’s outlook as well as the Viet Nam-EU ties, hoping that the FTA between the two sides would be signed soon./.
By Huong Giang
Đăng ký: VietNam News
