Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man (third, right) and Chairman of the European Parliament (EP)'s Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange (third, left) in a group photo. (Photo: VNA)Recalling the Global Gateway Forum (GGF) organisedby the EU last month, Lange said among the GGF-funded projects, there were those for Vietnam, demonstrating the active partnership between the EU and Vietnamand facilitating Vietnam’s production in the European market.
The INTA Chairman expressed his delight at theaccess of e-vehicles by Vietnamese automaker VinFast to the European market,stressing green transition is a common concern, and ample room remains forthis trend.
Regarding the implementation of the EU-Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA), Lange expressed his belief that the two sides will join hands to handle pending issues, and suggested them seek solutions for agriculturalstandards.
He also lauded Vietnam’s commitments and efforts injoining International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
Vietnam plays an important role in the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Lange said, emphasising his and the EU’sstance of supporting the freedom of navigation and overflight, and supporting the stance in the direction of respecting international law, especially in the East Sea.
For his part, Man said his working trip to the EPaims to promote in-depth discussions between the Vietnamese legislature and theEP, especially those made during the visit to Vietnam by the INTA Chairman in September2022.
Vietnam always attaches importance to its comprehensivepartnership and cooperation with the EU, he said, noting with pleasure thepositive developments of the relations between Vietnam and the EU, and between theVietnamese NA and the EP in particular.
Since the establishment of the diplomatic ties 33years ago, and of the comprehensive partnership and cooperation 11 years ago, Vietnam has become an important partner of the EU in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific, he continued.
Man spoke highly of joint efforts in maintaining theinter-parliamentary dialogue channel in a substantive and effective mannerthrough delegation exchanges, along with the cooperation mechanism tomaterialise the EVFTA, contributing to promoting priorities and settling issuesin the Vietnam-EU relations.
The EU is one of Vietnam’s leading tradeand investment partners, and development assistance suppliers, he said, elaboratingthat the two-way trade reached 62.4 billion USD last year, up 14%year-on-year.
Vietnam will seriously and fully implementcommitments in the EVFTA, while further reviewing and perfecting its legalsystem on labour, and realising international commitments it has joined, thelegislator pledged.
Man proposed the EP back the enhancement of thecomprehensive partnership and cooperation between Vietnam and the EU and itsmember countries across spheres, including inter-parliamentary cooperation, andurge parliaments of the remaining EU countries to soon ratify the EU-VietnamInvestment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
He also suggested the INTA Chairman to urge theEuropean Commission (EC) to soon remove its “yellow card” warning on Vietnameseseafood, and support strengthening the Vietnam-EU cooperation in greentransition, digital transformation and climate change response.
Man called on the EU and its member countries tocontinue supporting Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance on the peaceful settlement of disputesin the East Sa in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea.
He invited the INTA Chairman to visit Vietnam at anappropriate time. In reply, Lange said he plans to revisit the SoutheastAsian nation next January./.
VNA
