EU Expects Vietnam's Role in EU-ASEAN FTA Negotiations
The European Union (EU) highly valued Vietnam’s role and efforts in speeding up the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation process between the EU and the ASEAN, said EU officials.
Members of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee mission led by Committee’s first Vice Chairwoman, Corien Wortmann-Kool, made the remark at a Hanoi press conference October 4 when they wrapped up their two-day working visit to Vietnam.
Vietnam is the final location in the delegation’s working visit to Asia to search the FTA signing’s mutual benefits to the two sides.
During its working session with representatives of the Vietnamese government and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other relevant agencies and firms, the delegation particularly focused on Vietnam’s implementation of WTO commitments.
“Vietnam could give proper priorities to the negotiations towards the building of a trade deal aimed at boosting EU-ASEAN trade relations, as well as between the EU and Vietnam,” the vice chairwoman Wortmann-Kool affirmed later.
She also acknowledged the Southeast Asian nation’s efforts in opening up its economy and integrating into the global market, however, calling upon Vietnam to do more in intellectual property rights protection.
The EU-ASEAN free trade agreement will help expand the bilateral trade by between 10 per cent and 18 per cent, with the EU’s exports growth of 24.2 per cent to the ASEAN bloc and exports from ASEAN to EU grow 18.5 per cent. In 2005, the EU-ASEAN trade hit US$140.5 billion and the EU was the ASEAN’s third largest trade partner.
(Website of CPV)
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