Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has become more attractive to foreign investorsthan ever before as various freshly-inked new-generation free trade deals,including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-VietnamInvestment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), are expected to facilitate trade andbenefit foreign enterprises.

Commitments included inthe EVIPA will contribute to building a transparent legal and investmentenvironment, helping Vietnam attract more investors from the EU and other countries.

Besides, thenegotiations and implementation of the agreements conveyed a positive messageon Vietnam’s determination in furthering its integration into the worldeconomy.

European Commissionerfor Trade Cecilia Malmstrom and Romanian Minister for Business Environment, Commerce, andEntrepreneurship Stefan Radu Oprea shared the view that the high level of commitments in the EVIPA will build up EUinvestors’ confidence in the Vietnamese market.

Oprea believedthe signing of the two deals would kick off an effective cooperation in tradeand investment between the two sides.

Deputy Minister ofPlanning and Investment Vu Dai Thang said that with the two agreements, EUcorporations will have a chance to penetrate into the ASEAN market and those ofthe members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP).

“The two deals help promote investment not only from the EU but also from otherforeign markets”, Thang stressed.

Infact, besides EU businesses, many Japanese enterprises have expressed their intentionin investing in Vietnam, and are interested in trade opportunities resulted fromthe free trade pacts that Vietnam has engaged in. A case in point is TorayIndustries which wants to get involved in Vietnam’s weaving sector with amodern and complete industrial complex. As for Sumitomo group, besides smartcity development, they want to jump into Vietnamese fintech segment.

Speaking at the investment promotion conference in Tokyo on July 1, PM NguyenXuan Phuc stressed that with the pacts, Vietnam will be a “centre of the globaltrade flows”.

Vietnam always sees Japanese businesses as the country’sleading strategic partners, he said, hoping to receive more investments fromthe East Asian country in the coming time.

Right at the conference, PM Phuc witnessed the presentation of 32 investment certificatesand Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with a combined value of up to 8 billionUSD between Vietnamese and Japanese firms.

According to Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO)’s survey, more than 70percent Japanese businesses have expressed their desire to expand business in Vietnamto take advantage of the trade pacts.-VNA