Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son met with Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) Margaritis Schinas in Ho Chi Minh City on October 21 on the sidelines of the ongoing Green Economy Forum & Exhibition (GEFE).

Son told the EC official that Vietnam highly values its comprehensive partnership with the EU and expressed his satisfaction with the positive developments in their relations. Vietnam is the only ASEAN country to have a full framework of cooperation with the bloc, and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has provided a significant boost to the sides’ trade and investment.

As Vietnam and the EU prepare to celebrate 35 years of diplomatic relations in 2025, the deputy PM hoped they would continue working closely to elevate their ties to a new height. He suggested increasing high-level exchanges and contacts while effectively implementing cooperation mechanisms between their ministries and sectors.

He held that the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), once in force, will create new opportunities for bilateral trade and investment cooperation, especially in areas such as the environment, green transition, digital transformation, and the circular economy. He also urged the EC to promptly lift its "yellow card" on Vietnamese seafood exports under the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing framework, contributing to Vietnam’s sustainable fisheries development.

On this occasion, Son thanked the EU for its ongoing support of Vietnam’s sustainable development efforts through substantive cooperation programmes and projects as well as its timely assistance of 800,000 EUR to help Vietnamese people recover from the impact of Typhoon Yagi.

For his part, Schinas commended Vietnam's recent economic and social progress and noted that the Vietnam-EU cooperation has significant potential to grow.

He affirmed in addition to positive trade and investment relations, the EU seeks to enhance collaboration with the Southeast Asian country in areas where it holds a leading position, particularly green transition, environment, and climate change response. Schinas also agreed to push for the swift ratification of the EVIPA by EU member states to create a favourable environment for the expansion of their economic ties.

On the same day, in a meeting with Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tapani Tavio, Deputy PM Son stated Vietnam values its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Finland. He expressed his delight at the recent progress in bilateral collaboration across various fields, including politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, development, and education-training.

He proposed that both sides continue to maintain high-level exchanges and contacts and strengthen ties between their ministries and businesses so that they can fully capitalise on the benefits of the EVFTA to boost trade.

Appreciating the Finnish Parliament's ratification of the EVIPA, he suggested the nations expand joint work in potential sectors like high technology, telecommunications, renewable energy, environment, water treatment, and forest management.

Lauding Finland's strengths in education, the official recommended enhancing collaboration in high-quality human resources development and fostering ties between their educational institutions.

Minister Tavio praised Vietnam as a successful development model in its region and affirmed Finland’s wish to deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly in climate action and green transition – areas where Finnish businesses have significant experience and a long-standing presence in Vietnam.

He also agreed to expand coopera🧔tion in education and training, to continue strengthening comp꧃rehensive ties with the EU, and to exchanges and consultations at international and regional forums./.