“Asia is hugely important for the EU. And emerging Asia is not only the story of China and India, but it is also the story of ASEAN and one of its most dynamic Member State-Vietnam. My visit to Vietnam is to affirm that the EU is committed to engaging with the region and with Vietnam in particular”-said the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso at Hanoi National University on November 26 on his first visit to Vietnam.
Vietnam, one of key ASEAN player of the EU
In his statement, Mr José Manuel Barroso said that Asia, including Vietnam, is important for EU: “Despite the actively major engagements with the countries of the Middle East, the Southern Mediterranean, Russia, Ukraine, the Western Balkans, we must not lose sight to foster our relations with Asia and key players in Asia like Vietnam”.
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1990, ties between the EU and Vietnam have developed very rapidly. At first, the focus was on providing development assistance to Vietnam and in developing the bilateral trade. In 1995, EU signed a Cooperation Agreement, focussing mainly on trade and development cooperation, in order to provide a framework in which the relations could grow.
The EU and Vietnam then have implemented many projects. The first major ones, the two sides worked on together to integrate returnees, the famous “boat people”, into the fabric of society and help Vietnam to implement its economic reforms. Since then, EU-Vietnam has started working directly with the government in implementing its Socio-economic Development Programme.
In recognition of Vietnam’s achievements, in particular relating to poverty alleviation and donor coordination, the EU had substantially increased the financial aids to Vietnam. More than €300 millions will be injected to the country for the next seven years. EU is committed to continue assisting Vietnam’s efforts in becoming a modern industrialised society, in a most aid-effective manner.
The EU and Vietnam have also become very important trading partners with some € 9 billion of total trade in 2006. EU is a major source of Foreign Direct Investment, and the second largest investor to the country in 2006.
As one of Vietnam’s foremost trade and investment partners, the EU has very much supported Vietnam in this endeavour and ready to continue assisting Vietnam. The further development of trade and industry will be crucial to overcoming these challenges and moving Vietnam into middle-income status and beyond. Attracting more investment by Vietnamese companies and attracting more FDI, notably from Europe, will be essential.
More recently, the EU and Vietnam have broadened the dialogue to include more political issues like Governance and Human Rights and anti-corruption. The fact that the two sides can raise these subjects with each other in a spirit of mutual respect is a sign of a mature and frank relationship between good friends of long standing.
Tackling the common global challenges together
Mr José Manuel Barroso emphasized that: “The time has now come to establish a closer political partnership between the EU and Vietnam to be able to further develop our bilateral ties and tackle more effectively some of the common global challenges we are faced with. That is why I warmly welcomed the opportunity to officially launch negotiations for a new Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement together with Prime Minister Dung. This Agreement will mark a great improvement in the way we engage as equal partners”.
He added: “Vietnam will soon take a seat at the UN Security Council. This shows that it is ready to play a global role. It is significant that Vietnam’s desire for closer integration with the international community goes beyond the economic sphere to encompass the political domain. In becoming a member of the Security Council, Vietnam is taking on global responsibilities”. Vietnam would thus become a key partner for the EU in tackling the new set of global challenges which has emerged. The international order that people of his generation grew up with is being altered for good. A new economic world was emerging that would inevitably reshape the political world.
However, he said “we fundamentally misunderstand globalisation if we see it as something that is imposed on our societies from outside”. So the challenges of living in a globalised world cannot be easily separated from the enormous benefits. It is foolish to believe that the two sides can somehow take the bits they like and discard the bits they don't.
“The EU stands ready to support Vietnam and other key partners to reduce their emissions in an economically viable way. However, by building together a stronger partnership, the EU and Vietnam can tackle these challenges by working together because that is the way that we forge real cooperation”- he concluded.
Giang Tu
Vietnamese
