Investment from the European Union into Vietnam is to surge in the time to come, an EU high-ranking trade official remarked April 23, after the Vietnam-EU seminar two days earlier.
The EU will continue to take the leading position among foreign investors in the country, while remaining one of Vietnam’s largest trade partners, said Philippe Mayer, an official from the European Commission’s General Trade Department.
EU investment into Vietnam has dipped lightly as European investors feared a volatile investment environment due to the coming of a new Investment Law draft, and Vietnam’s approaching accession to the World Trade Organization, he said.
However, it was only a temporary trend, he said, adding Vietnam has been trying to improve its legal system, which could boost foreign investment, thus attracting EU investors.
During the Vietnam-EU trade seminar in Hanoi, April 21, the two sides discussed the implementation of a market access agreement, which Vietnam and the EU signed in December last year, and the Trans-Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative (TREATI).
They also discussed a plan to recognize Vietnam as a market economy. The EU is now still requesting the provision of more information and promises to send experts to help Vietnam comply with available criteria.
Currently, the EU is considering a reintroduction of preferential trade access to developing countries, including Vietnam.
The EU is Vietnam's largest trading partner with bilateral turnover reaching US$7.3 billion last year, an increase of 20 per cent against 2003. The value included US$5.1 billion worth of Vietnamese exports.
Vietnam’s key exports to Europe include leather products and footwear, textiles and garments, seafood and coffee, all of which are primarily consumed by Germany, Italy, France and the UK.
Thanh Nien Daily, Pioneer
Vietnamese
