Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha receives EU diplomats in Viet Nam

Tran said that over the past 35 years, the Viet Nam–EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation has made significant strides, expanding in a dynamic, comprehensive and effective manner across multiple fields.

Since the EU–Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed in 2019, bilateral trade has grown at around 10–15 per cent annually. The EU is Viet Nam's fourth-largest trading partner, third-largest export market and sixth-largest source of foreign investment (more than US$30 billion).

Tran briefed the European diplomats on Viet Nam's major achievements in 2025, describing the year as one of particular importance, marked by a new development mindset and far-reaching institutional reforms, along with the adoption of strategic policies in science and technology, health care, education and private-sector development.

Looking ahead, he said Viet Nam hopes to continue cooperation and experience-sharing with, and support from European partners, and stands ready to further elevate Viet Nam–EU relations in both scope and depth.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the two sides have strong potential to complement each other in many areas, including economy and trade, science and technology, climate change response and environmental protection. He also underscored the importance of enhancing cooperation in education and training, culture and the arts, people-to-people exchanges, as well as green and digital transitions.

On maritime cooperation, the Deputy PM emphasized that, as a country with a long coastline, Viet Nam seeks to strengthen cooperation with EU partners in sustainable marine development, including marine research, environmental protection, the marine economy and responsible fisheries, particularly in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

He noted that Viet Nam has made substantial investments in vessel monitoring systems, deployed fisheries monitoring software, and fundamentally revised its fisheries legislation, adding comprehensive provisions on violations and imposing strict administrative and criminal penalties. Notably, the Prime Minister chairs weekly meetings to address and work towards ending IUU fishing, he added.

With the goal of developing a sustainable and environmentally friendly fisheries sector, the Deputy PM said Viet Nam hopes to expand cooperation with EU partners in aquaculture, gradually shifting from capture fishing to farming, while promoting marine services and sustainable marine tourism.

He expressed confidence that, building on the foundation of political trust and solid cooperation built over the past 35 years, the relations between Viet Nam and the EU, as well as with individual member states, will continue to grow strongly, contributing positively to peace, stability and prosperity in both regions and beyond.

On behalf of EU member states, Rafael de Bustamante Tello, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the EU Delegation to Viet Nam affirmed that Viet Nam is a priority partner of the EU in Southeast Asia. He noted that relations between Viet Nam and the EU, as well as with individual member states, have been developing in a positive and dynamic manner.

He pointed out that 2025 marks several important milestones for both Viet Nam and Viet Nam–EU relations, including the 75th, 50th and 35th anniversaries of Viet Nam's diplomatic ties with Central and Eastern European countries, Germany and the EU, respectively.

Given the strong partnership forged over the past 35 years, he said the EU hopes to soon elevate bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The EU, he added, will continue to promote cooperation with Viet Nam in a wide range of areas, including effective implementation of the EVFTA, transport infrastructure development, green and digital transitions, the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), and sustainable development.

The ambassadors and chargés d'affaires congratulated Viet Nam on its impressive socio-economic achievements, noting that the Southeast Asian nation has maintained high economic growth despite challenges posed by natural disasters, while tourism reached a new milestone with 20 million international visitors.

EU representatives highly valued Viet Nam's strong and rapid reform efforts in recent times, including the streamlining of the political system and the introduction of the two-tier local administration system, improvements in the legal framework, and the issuance of key strategic resolutions creating momentum for deeper integration and private-sector development. They said these reforms have already had a very positive impact on the foreign business community.

The diplomats agreed that Viet Nam continues to hold great potential and expressed confidence that the Government's ongoing reforms will further enhance the country's attractiveness to foreign partners and investors. They also thanked Vietnamese ministries and agencies for their support in recent years, welcomed Viet Nam's visa exemption policies for European citizens, and expressed hope for further facilitation of cooperation in trade and investment, as well as cultural, artistic, student and people-to-people exchanges./.