Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang (L) and Member of the European Parliament Jan Zahradil at the workshop (Source: VNA)Brussels (VNA) – The VietnameseEmbassy in Belgium, in collaboration with the European Union (EU), theEU-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentians' Group and the European Institute forAsian Studies, held a workshop in Brussels on June 20 to speed up the signingand ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Speaking at the event, Vietnamese AmbassadorVu Anh Quang stressed the positive results of economic, trade and investmentcooperation between Vietnam and the EU, calling for the union’s strengthenedcollaboration with Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN).
According to him, the EVFTA is a balanceddocument that benefits both the EU and Vietnam and has big influences onbilateral political, economic, trade and investment ties.
The agreement will help EU companies accessthe 90-million-people strong Vietnamese market, contributing to boostingbilateral cooperation. It will also allow the EU to improve its position androle in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific, Quang said.
He affirmed that Vietnam commits to ensuringan open and transparent business and investment environment as well asfollowing the regulations of the agreement.
Participants at the workshop also lauded thesignificance of the agreement for both sides.
Many said that EVFTA will open upopportunities for the two sides’ enterprises through forming innovativemechanisms to protect investors, and provide conditions for EU small- andmedium-sized enterprises to more easily access the Vietnamese market.
Ambassador and Head of the EU Mission toVietnam Bruno Angelet emphasised issues that Vietnam needs to solve to takeadvantage of the agreement, while suggesting the country protect intellectualproperty.
To boost farm produce exports, Vietnamshould obey the EU’s food requirements and the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Agreement,he noted.
Member of the European Parliament JanZahradil, who is President of the EU-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentians' Group,expressed his belief that the agreement will be approved in the current tenureof the European Parliament.
Next week, Vietnamese Minister of Industryand Trade Tran Tuan Anh will travel to Brussels to solve existing technical matters,so that the European Council can sign the agreement and submit it to theEuropean Parliament for ratification.
The European Parliament in the currenttenure will convene its meetings until mid-April, 2019, so both sides haveabout 10 months to complete the signing and ratification of the agreement,Zahradil said.-VNA
VNA
