At the talks between Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Frans Timmermans and Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh. (Photo: VNA) During his talks with Deputy Prime Minister Le VanThanh in Hanoi, Timmermans affirmed that the European Union (EU) attachesimportance to the partnership and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam.
He hailed Vietnam’s commitments and efforts in materialisingresults of the COP26, saying the Southeast Asian nation has advantages andpotential for clean and renewable energy development.
The EU supports and will work to promote cooperationwith Vietnam through private investments, the EU’s resources and internationalfinancial resources, he pledged.
Timmermans also spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in handlingillegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), and said that the EUwill soon send experts to the country to look into the work and give conclusions for thematter.
The two sides noted with pleasure the active developmentsof the Vietnam-EU relations despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU is an important economic and development partnerand the biggest non-refundable aid provider of Vietnam. It is also the country’sthird largest importer and sixth largest investor.
Two-way trade reached 57 billion USD 18 months after theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was put in place.
The two agreed to enhance collaboration in politics,diplomacy, trade, investment, development, agriculture, environment, energy,national defence and security, among others.
Thanh suggested the EU and its member countries createfavourable conditions for Vietnamese goods to enter the market, and called onthe EC to back efforts to push ahead with the ratification of the EU-VietnamInvestment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to boost the bilateral economic ties.
He proposed the EU to soon remove the “yellow card”warning in IUU fishing and help Vietnam improve its fishery management capacity,provide technical assistance and carry out solutions to fight illegal fishing.
For cooperation in energy and environment, the DeputyPM reiterated Vietnam’s strong commitment to climate change adaptation, with attention to the low-carbon economy.
He called on the EU to support and cooperate with Vietnam in thefulfillment of commitments made at the COP26, especially the target of net zeroemissions by 2050, and the building of the domestic carbon market.
Thanh suggested cooperation in implementing projectsin energy, transport, forest preservation and technological transfer, andcalled on the EU to help Vietnam access financial and technological sources to realise the commitments and initiatives on emission reduction and climate changeresponse.
Both sides agreed to strengthen collaboration inclimate change adaptation, turning Vietnam into a model of effective cooperation withthe EU in this regard.
Executive Vice President Timmermans is paying a visitto Vietnam from February 17-19 at the invitation of Deputy PM Thanh.
During the trip, Timmermans will pay a courtesy visitto Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and hold working sessions with the Ministryof Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry./.
VNA
