The European Union (EU) sees Vietnam as one of the leading partners in its Indo-Pacific Strategy and wishes to elevate relations with the Southeast Asian country to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time, its senior official has said.

Josep Borrell Fontelles, Vice President of the European Commission (EC) and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the statement at his meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi on Tuesday, as part of his three-day visit to Vietnam, which started on Monday, at Minister Son’s invitation.

After their talks, the two officials co-chaired a press conference providing the main details of their meeting.

Affirming that Vietnam is a crucial partner for the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Borrell expressed his wish that his visit would kickstart a process to raise the relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership.

Borrell stated that Vietnam currently holds the most cooperative agreements with the EU among Southeast Asian countries, including a Free Trade Agreement and a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

“I would like my visit to be the moment to launch the process to upgrade our relations. And one of the most important deliverables of this meeting will be the decision to start working, from today onward, to upgrade our relations toward the level of Strategic and Comprehensive [Partnership],” the European External Action Service cited Borrell as saying.

The EC Vice President said the EU is actively implementing various strategies, policies, and specific projects to beef up cooperation with Vietnam as well as the broader Asia-Pacific region, while coordinating with the Southeast Asian country to address global challenges, the Vietnam News Agency reported.  

He affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner in implementing the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and wished to further strengthen cooperation between the two sides in this strategy.

The EU supports Vietnam’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions through the effective implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and seeks to enhance collaboration with Vietnam under frameworks like the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative, which aims to promote the global transition to carbon-neutral economies.

Minister Son told the media that the two sides are effectively implementing four cooperation agreements and eight dialogue mechanisms in various fields to promote their partnership. 

Vietnam is the first ASEAN country to have all pillars of cooperation in politics, economics, defense, and security with the EU, Son said, adding that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has achieved positive results after nearly four years of implementation.

He proposed that the EU continue providing official development assistance to Vietnam through bilateral and multilateral cooperation channels, as well as regional programs. The focus should be on urgent areas such as public governance capacity building, green economy, digital economy, circular economy, and sustainable fishery development.

The minister also asked for support from the bloc in financial aid, technology transfer, and human resource training for Vietnam’s effective JETP implementation, including the establishment of a carbon credit market connected to the international market and the development of green hydrogen projects.

Welcoming the EU to play an active role in the Indo-Pacific region, Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge for the grouping's cooperation with the region, including strengthening the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership and implementing their action plan for 2023-27, Son affirmed. 

He proposed that the EU remove its illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing ‘yellow card’ warning, which has been imposed on Vietnamese seafood since 2017.

The diplomat also urged EU member countries that have not yet ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to do so promptly for mutual benefits.

On this issue, Borrell stated that he would intensify efforts to encourage the remaining EU member states to ratify the EVIPA, facilitating a breakthrough in bilateral investment cooperation.

On the East Vietnam Sea issue, Minister Son said that Vietnam welcomes and highly appreciates the EU's active contribution to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the waterway, based on international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Borrell stated that the EU supports Vietnam and ASEAN's stance on freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as peaceful settlement of disputes in compliance with international law, particularly the UNCLOS.

Minister Son expressed sincere thanks to Borrell for attending the state funeral for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away on July 19. 

The EC Vice President highlighted the late Party chief's significant contributions to strengthening the position of Vietnam on the global stage and fostering Vietnam-EU relations. 

Currently, the EU is Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner while Vietnam is the bloc’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

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