Rome (VNA) – Italian news website La CittàFutura has run a story highlighting the important role of Vietnam as a bridgefor the strategic partnership between the European Union (EU) and theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN,) on the occasion of PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh’s participation in the ASEAN-EU Summit commemoratingthe 45th anniversary of their relations.

According to the article, the ASEAN-EU Summit is first high-level event between the two blocks, to be held in Brussels onDecember 14.

Established in 1977, the ASEAN-EU cooperation has grownsteadily in both width and depth, and became a strategic partnership in 2020.With the approval of the Indo-Pacific Strategy announced in 2021, the EU hasofficially recognised the central role of ASEAN in the region. In terms ofeconomy and trade, in 2021, the EU was ASEAN's third largest partner and secondlargest supplier of FDI among the grouping’s dialogue partners, it said.

According to the article, with the recent significantprogress in bilateral cooperation with the EU in key sectors, Vietnam isbecoming an important and effective bridge, contributing to the strengtheningof joint cooperation mechanisms between ASEAN and the EU. In particular, thesigning of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its coming into force on 1 August 2020 has created a strong impetus for economic exchanges and trade between the two sides, and is also considered as a model for the EUto continue expanding its engagement across the entire ASEAN region, it held.

The article underlined that despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tradeturnover between Vietnam and the EU has grown impressively in recent years. Specifically,two-way trade in the first eight months of 2022 reached 42.4 billion USD, anincrease of 14.85% compared to the same period of 2021. Vietnam's exportstructure to the EU tends to expand and diversify.

In terms of investment, the EU is currently the fifth largest foreign investorin Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 27.6 billion USD. In the firsteight months of 2022 alone, the EU's total registered investment capital inVietnam reached 2.2 billion USD, an increase of 69.6% compared to the sameperiod in 2021. Vietnam has received high-quality investment from the EU withprojects using advanced technology, creating common value and benefits for thebusiness communities of both sides.

Along with enhancing economic exchanges and trade, cooperation and experience sharingin climate change response is also a key cooperation area, in which both Vietnamand the EU are interested and promoting. A developing country, yet Vietnam has continued to give a high priority to and been determined tosuccessfully implement the commitments announced at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference(COP26) and achieve the net-zero emission goal in 2050, it noted.

Along with that, Vietnam and the EU are activelyimplementing cooperation initiatives on green energy and sustainable energy. Inparticular, with the coordination of the UN and the EU, Vietnam has establishedthe Just Energy Transformation Partnership (JETP) with the group of the mostindustrialised countries in the world (G7). The Vietnamese side has contributedpolitically and technically to the implementation of this initiative, it added.

For Vietnam, the issue of energy conversion is of greatimportance for the successful implementation of the National Socio-EconomicDevelopment Strategy. Vietnam calls on the EU to support the building ofself-sufficiency in the production of renewable energy conversion equipment,support access to preferential green finance, and enhance technologicaltransformation.

Within the region, Vietnam and the EU aim to coordinate andexpand cooperation in other important areas, at a time when many important EUstrategies have just been announced, such as the cooperation strategy with theIndo- peace, the Global Gateway, and the strategic compass, demonstrating theremarkable role of the ASEAN region and Asia in general, said the article./.