According to the article, the ASEAN-E.U. Summit is first high-level event between the two blocks, to be held in Brussels on December 14.
Established in 1977, the ASEAN-E.U. cooperation has grown steadily in both width and depth, and became a strategic partnership in 2020. With the approval of the Indo-Pacific Strategy announced in 2021, the E.U. has officially recognized the central role of ASEAN in the region. In terms of economy and trade, in 2021, the E.U. was ASEAN's third largest partner and second largest supplier of FDI among the grouping’s dialogue partners, it said.
According to the article, with the recent significant progress in bilateral cooperation with the E.U. in key sectors, Vietnam is becoming an important and effective bridge, contributing to the strengthening of joint cooperation mechanisms between ASEAN and the E.U. In particular, the signing of the E.U.-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its coming into force on 1 August 2020 has created a strong impetus for economic exchanges and trade between the two sides, and is also considered as a model for the E.U. to continue expanding its engagement across the entire ASEAN region, it held.
The article underlined that despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade turnover between Vietnam and the E.U. has grown impressively in recent years. Specifically, two-way trade in the first eight months of 2022 reached USD 42.4 billion, an increase of 14.85% compared to the same period of 2021. Vietnam's export structure to the E.U. tends to expand and diversify.
In terms of investment, the E.U. is currently the fifth largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of USD 27.6 billion. In the first eight months of 2022 alone, the E.U.'s total registered investment capital in Vietnam reached USD 2.2 billion, an increase of 69.6% compared to the same period in 2021. Vietnam has received high-quality investment from the E.U. with projects using advanced technology, creating common value and benefits for the business communities of both sides.
Along with enhancing economic exchanges and trade, cooperation and experience sharing in climate change response is also a key cooperation area, in which both Vietnam and the E.U. are interested and promoting. A developing country, yet Vietnam has continued to give a high priority to and been determined to successfully implement the commitments announced at the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) and achieve the net-zero emission goal in 2050, it noted.
Along with that, Vietnam and the E.U. are actively implementing cooperation initiatives on green energy and sustainable energy. In particular, with the coordination of the U.N. and the E.U., Vietnam has established the Just Energy Transformation Partnership (JETP) with the group of the most industrialized countries in the world (G7). The Vietnamese side has contributed politically and technically to the implementation of this initiative, it added.
For Vietnam, the issue of energy conversion is of great importance for the successful implementation of the National Socio-Economic Development Strategy. Vietnam calls on the E.U. to support the building of self-sufficiency in the production of renewable energy conversion equipment, support access to preferential green finance, and enhance technological transformation.
Within the region, Vietnam and the E.U. aim to coordinate and expand cooperation in other important areas, at a time when many important E.U. strategies have just been announced, such as the cooperation strategy with the Indo-Pacific, the Global Gateway, and the strategic compass, demonstrating the remarkable role of the ASEAN region and Asia in general, said the article.
Source: VNA