Hai noted with pleasure positive developments in the relations between Vietnam and the E.U. as well as the Vietnamese legislature and the E.P., saying Vietnam is now an important partner of the E.U. in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific.
The Vietnamese N.A. highly values joint efforts in maintaining the substantive and effective inter-parliamentary dialogue channel through delegation exchange, he said.
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Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (N.A.) Nguyen Duc Hai (right) and Bernd Lange, Chairman of the European Parliament (E.P.)'s Committee on International Trade |
Regarding the E.U. - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which went into force on August 1, 2020, he said it has helped push the two-way trade, affirming that Vietnam will seriously and fully fulfill its commitments in the deal as well as other international commitments it has made.
The legislator held that there will be more ample room for the two sides to boost their trade ties once the E.U. - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) ratified by all parliaments of E.U. member countries and put into force.
He called on the E.P. to support strengthening the partnership and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the E.U. and its member countries across fields, including inter-parliamentary cooperation, and Vietnam - E.U. collaboration in green transition, digital transformation, and climate change response.
Hai suggested Lange urge the European Commission (E.C.) to soon remove its “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood to contribute to ensuring livelihoods for Vietnamese fishermen and supplies to the E.U. market; and the E.U. and its members to further back Vietnam’s and ASEAN’s stance on settling disputes in the East Sea (South China Sea) peacefully on the basis of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
For his part, Lange said the two sides have held many activities to materialize commitments between the Vietnamese legislature and the E.P. on the establishment of a regular dialogue mechanism on the EVFTA, stressing it is significant to promoting Vietnam - E.U. cooperation.
Sharing Hai’s view on the importance of the trade deal, he said it has given many boosts to the economic and political relations, and affirmed that Vietnam is the E.U.’s important partner in the ASEAN, and that the impressive trade growth reflects their huge potential for development cooperation.
For the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Lange cited the E.C.'s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries as saying that Vietnam has made great efforts in equipping its fishing boats with the vessel monitoring system, fixing shortcomings in the implementation of E.U. recommendations, and internalizing international treaties.
He suggested the two sides maintain their exchange and dialogue mechanisms in an open and constructive manner to forge the partnership and comprehensive cooperation.
Source: VNA