Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) plans to ratify the European- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) at its bi-annual working session later this year, and continue perfecting the legal framework to put these trade deals the deal and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) into practice, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said at talks with European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom.
Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom. Photo by Nhat Bac/VGP
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Vietnam’s top legislator emphasized the importance of the EVFTA and EVIPA in lifting the already good relationship between Vietnam and EU to a new height and expressed her belief that the two pacts would bring practical benefits to people, enterprises, and investors of the two sides.
In turn, Commissioner Malmstrom said that the signing of two pacts is a significant turning point in the Vietnam - EU relationship, helping strengthen the comprehensive partnership and cooperation between two sides.
With the two pacts, two sides desire to boost the cooperation relationship based on the realization of joint commitments with the focus on trade and investment.
She also said that Vietnam-EU relations should also be viewed not only from bilateral but also multilateral perspective, contributing to the promotion of international trade mechanism such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) or other international organizations.
The two sides also agreed that dialogues and maintaining regular dialogues are crucial for not only the implementation of the two pacts but also the expansion of the bilateral relationship under the EU-Vietnam Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation (PCA).
Accordingly, Vietnam and EU’s relevant agencies will work closely to prepare for submitting these pacts to the Vietnamese National Assembly and the European Parliament (EP) for early ratification.
