How Vietnamese Business community are prepared for the EU-VN Free Trade Agreement

This presents a great chance for the business community in the Central Highland region to obtain the first hand knowledge and experience shared by the representatives of the EU Delegation and experts of the relevant Vietnamese agencies on how to optimise the opportunities offered by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), for the agricultural sector.

Ms. Miriam Garcia Ferrer, First Counsellor/Head of the Trade and Economic Section of the Delegation of EU to Vietnam said: "It was in deed a success for us to negotiate this ambitious FTA. More importantly, grasping all opportunities offered by this trade deal, in particular for the agricultural sector, is another challenge ahead. We look forward to close cooperation with our Vietnamese partners and stakeholders to ensure the optimal use of this trade deal. For this purpose, we need to work jointly to ensure the Vietnamese business community to well prepare".

The EU remains Vietnam's second largest trading partner with bilateral trade over EUR38.4 billion. So far, EU investors have injected more than USD21.563 billion into 1,959 projects in Vietnam (March 2017), accounting for 7.2 per cent of total foreign direct investment and 8.5 per cent of projects registered in the country. Economic ties between both sides keep growing strong and are expected to be further reinforced with as a result of the FTA.

Vietnam is the second country in the ASEAN region after Singapore to reach an ambitious and comprehensive FTA with the EU in December 2015. The FTA will open new opportunities to Vietnamese and European businesses. It is, therefore, essential that companies have a good understanding of what has been achieved so as to optimise the opportunities of the EU-Vietnam FTA. More events and activities are foreseen in the near future./.