EC president in Vietnam pledges to deepen ties
HANOI - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso arrived in Vietnam on Sunday, pledging to deepen commercial and political ties with the economically-booming communist nation.
During his visit, the first to Vietnam by a head of the EU executive, Barroso was set to start talks for a new Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, replacing a 1995 pact, he said in a statement.
Barroso praised Vietnam's rapid economic growth and sharp poverty reduction and said the country, due to take a two-year UN Security Council seat in January, would play a larger role on the international stage.
"The time has now come to establish a closer political partnership between the EU and Vietnam, enabling us to tackle more effectively some of the common global challenges we are faced with," he said in a statement.
Key world issues included climate change, managing increasing global competition, fighting poverty and countering international terrorism, he said.
"Such challenges affect us all. And no nation-state -- even the most powerful -- can hope to tackle them successfully on its own."
Vietnam, a poor and isolated country when its war ended in 1975, saw over eight percent economic growth last year and joined the World Trade Organisation in January, becoming an increasingly popular Asian investment destination.
Barroso said "the changes occurring in Vietnam during the past decade have been dramatic and important, and they have not gone unnoticed by the EU."
"Vietnam is taking its rightful place in ASEAN alongside more long-standing members," said Barroso, who last week attended a Singapore summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He pledged to boost EU-Vietnam trade, which reached nine billion euros (13.4 billion dollars) last year, and development aid, saying the European Commission had allocated over 300 million euros in grants for Vietnam over the next seven years.
"We are committed to continue assisting Vietnam's efforts in becoming a modern industrialised society," said Barroso.
The EU is now Vietnam's largest trade partner, accounting for 17 percent of last year's total foreign trade value, said the Vietnam News Agency.
As of September, the EU had 640 investment projects worth 8.35 billion dollars in the country, said the state-run agency. The bloc had also given 6.7 billion dollars in official development assistance since 1995.
Barroso said in his statement that dialogue had broadened in recent years "to include more political issues such as governance, human rights and anti-corruption."
Vietnam has been widely praised for opening up its economic system but criticised for maintaining a one-party political system.
Eight days before Barroso's visit, Ho Chi Minh City police arrested several dissidents, including a French, a US and a Thai citizen who, their supporters said, had met to discuss peaceful change toward a multi-party system.
Vietnam government spokesman Le Dung said Barroso's visit would "promote bilateral relations between Vietnam and EU in general and between Vietnam and the EC in particular, especially in economics, trade and investment.
It would also help the EU "understand the situation and the path of socio-economic development of Vietnam, Vietnam's policies on external relations and international integration," he said.
During his Hanoi visit, Barroso will meet Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh, entrepreneurs and university students.
He leaves early Tuesday for China before travelling on to India, having previously visited Singapore and East Timor.
Agence France Press - November 25, 2007.
Vietnam, EU enjoy increased cooperation
President of the European Commission (EC) Jose Manuel Barroso will make an official visit to Vietnam from November 25-27 at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
This is the first visit to Vietnam by an EC president since Vietnam and the European Union (EU) established diplomatic ties in 1990. The visit takes place when Vietnam and EU relationship enjoys positive developments in every area from politics, economics, trade to culture, education and technology.
Vietnam and the EU have maintained exchange of high-level delegations over the past 17 years. The latest visit was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the EC in September 2006.
During the visit to Ha Noi by then EC President Romano Prodi and European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy to attend the fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM-5) in October 2004, the first Vietnam-EU summit was held where both sides discussed measures and orientations to build a long-term and comprehensive relationship.
The EU is now Vietnam ’s largest trade partner, accounting for 17 percent of the country’s total foreign trade value. Two-way trade reached nearly 10 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year and is expected to climb to 12 billion USD by the year-end.
As of September 2007, the EU had 640 investment projects worth 8.35 billion USD in Vietnam .
The EU is also one of Vietnam ’s leading official development assistance (ODA) providers with 6.7 billion USD since 1995. The bloc also pledged to give 940 million USD in aid to Vietnam this year.
To boost their partnership, Vietnam and the EU have decided to reach a more comprehensive partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) to replace their cooperation framework inked in 1995.
Thanks to the PCA, the flow of investment from the EU to Vietnam will continue increasing, said Sandra Callagan, Head of Political, Economic and Trade Section of the European Commission in Vietnam , adding that cooperation in research, science and technology will come high on the list of the priorities in the PCA.
Vietnam News Agency - November 25, 2007
|