“Relations between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) have been close and strong,” stated Markus Cornaro, an ambassador and chief of the EU committee delegation in Vietnam, at the press conference on the “EU week in Vietnam” celebrating the 50th anniversary of the EU (25th March, 1957).
“We are very glad to see further improvement of the EU, along with growing intensity in relations and corporate expansion between the EU and Vietnam. Some of the eastern European countries having established traditional relations with Vietnam is another of many factors improving EU- Vietnam relations,” said Cornaro.
Both the EU and Vietnam have strived to improve relations in every aspect. There are many economic and trade supports for Vietnam funded by the EU. In 2006, the EU became the second greatest ODA donor for Vietnam, with promised support of nearly US$ 1 billion.
According to Markus, the relationship between the EU and Vietnam has developed beyond the trade framework, corporations and pure politics. Culture exchange activities have significantly sharpened the knowledge between the two areas regarding their cultures. To confirm Markus’s statement, Christian- Ludwig Weber-Lotsch, an ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, taking the post of president of the EU, said the EU has prioritized funding for three sectors in Vietnam, economic reform, environment protection and health.
There are many activities on the 50th anniversary of the EU.
- Discussion “Looking Back at the Treaties of Rome - Fifty Years After (1957 – 2007)”
16 March 2007 18:00 to 19:30 pm, Goethe Institute 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc
- European Gala Evening
23 March 2007 with a repeat performance on 24 March 2007 at 20:00 pm, Opera House 1 Trang Tien, Hanoi
- Seminar “The 50 th anniversary of the European Union: Building on the past, looking towards the future”
27 March 2007 09:00 to 13:00 at National Library 31 Trang Thi, Hanoi
- A comic strips' insight
Opening: 18hrs 27 March 2007 At: L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien
- Screening of One Day in Europe
27, 28 and 29 March 2007 at 20:00 Megastar Cineplex Vincom City Towers, 6 th Floor 191 Ba Trieu, Hanoi
- Spanish concert
30 March 2007 at 20:00pm, at Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Hanoi
Thu Huyen
Vietnamese
