At a meeting with Ambassador Julien Guerrier, Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, along with ambassadors and chargé d'affaires of EU member states in Hanoi on October 12, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung called for enhanced cooperation in strategic areas, promoting investment, trade, and green transition, and urged the swift realization of the comprehensive Vietnam-EU Strategic Partnership framework through practical projects.
Discussing the country's development, the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam is vigorously implementing major policies, striving for annual double-digit economic growth from 2026 to 2030, aiming to become a developing country with modern industry by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045.
Promoting Cooperation in Strategic Areas
Vietnam is renewing its growth model, developing new drivers based on science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, and green transition. Simultaneously, it is perfecting legal frameworks in energy, investment, and business sectors to effectively mobilize development resources.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the transformations in Vietnam's economy are opening up vast cooperation opportunities with the EU and its member states.
After 36 years of diplomatic relations, the Vietnam-EU relationship has increasingly developed in depth and substance. Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU. Currently, the EU is Vietnam's fourth-largest trading partner, third-largest export market, and fifth-largest import market.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung suggested that both sides leverage their potential and advantages to enhance coordination in addressing common challenges and bringing long-term benefits.
Affirming that Vietnam always values and prioritizes its relationship with the EU and its member states, the Prime Minister proposed that both sides continue to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, increase delegation exchanges, engage at all levels, coordinate in multilateral forums, and promote defense-security cooperation.
Regarding economic cooperation, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung urged the EU and its member states to strengthen cooperation in strategically significant areas such as science, technology, innovation, essential raw materials, strategic infrastructure, energy transition, digital transformation, and green transition.
In the energy sector, the Prime Minister called for enhanced cooperation in developing new energy, green hydrogen production technology, green ammonia, offshore wind power, and modernizing energy infrastructure.
For transportation infrastructure, the Prime Minister expressed a desire for the EU to boost cooperation in developing strategic projects, especially high-speed railways, urban railways, seaports, and aviation; increase support in capital, technology, human resource training, and encourage European businesses to invest more in Vietnam.
The Prime Minister also proposed expanding cooperation in education, training, academic exchange, and developing high-quality human resources, including the Erasmus program.
In terms of trade and investment, the Prime Minister urged the EU diplomats to further contribute to promoting the effective implementation of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), expediting the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and facilitating bilateral trade and investment.
Simultaneously, the Prime Minister requested the EU's support for the European Commission (EC) to soon lift the "yellow card" warning on Vietnamese seafood related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The Prime Minister appreciated the EU's recognition of Vietnam's efforts in perfecting the legal framework, enhancing tax cooperation, and removing Vietnam from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
For remaining differences, the Prime Minister suggested continuing to resolve them through dialogue and existing bilateral mechanisms, ensuring they do not affect the comprehensive strategic partnership.
EU Values Stable, Trustworthy Cooperation with Vietnam
On behalf of the ambassadors and chargé d'affaires of EU member states, Ambassador Julien Guerrier assessed that the Vietnam-EU relationship is becoming more substantive, trustworthy, and dynamic.
The Ambassador emphasized that in the context of complex global developments, Vietnam plays an important role; maintaining and strengthening stable, trustworthy cooperation with Vietnam is of special significance to the EU.
According to Ambassador Julien Guerrier, EU businesses have strengths in advanced, high-quality technology and wish to expand cooperation and investment in Vietnam, especially in green transition, supply chains, transportation, strategic infrastructure, essential raw materials, science and technology, and defense-security.
The Ambassador affirmed that the EU wishes to continue accompanying Vietnam in its new development phase.
Both sides agreed to prepare well for high-level foreign affairs activities and accelerate the realization of the comprehensive strategic partnership framework through practical, long-term vision programs and projects, creating momentum for the Vietnam-EU relationship to develop deeply and effectively in the future.
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