(VOVWORLD) - In July, Vietnamese cabinet members paid working visits to European and Latin American countries to strengthen political and trade relation.
 Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and US Vice Secretary of State John Sullivan. (photo: VGP/Thanh Chung)
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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh visited Greece and Bulgaria early this month. Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Steering Committee for Global Economic Integration Vuong Dinh Hue paid working visits to the US and Brazil. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh met with the EU Commissioner for Trade.
Calls for investment from Latin American countries
During a visit to the US, a comprehensive partner of Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Hue proposed establishing dialogue channels between sectors and ministries to share information on trade and foreign exchange policies, urge the US to approve a bilateral agreement on double taxation avoidance, and reopen ODA and preferential loans for Vietnam to implement humanitarian and development projects.
Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways signed an agreement worth 5.6 billion USD to buy 20 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing. Both countries agreed on measures to conclude negotiations of the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA).
Vietnam and Brazil signed agreements on aviation, agriculture, and cooperation between the two countries’ Chambers of Industry and Trade. The two countries are finalizing defense industry cooperation and discussing investment protection and double taxation avoidance.
Vietnam is poised to become a top importer of Brazil’s corns and soy bean and will consider buying beef from Brazil. Brazil will increase its imports of coffee, tra fish, and shrimp from Vietnam. Vietnam expressed readiness to cooperate with Brazil in manufacturing farm machinary, safe agriculture, tourism, education, and pharmaceuticals.
Finalizing trade agreements with the EU
During a working session between Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom in Brussels, in late June, the two sides formally concluded a legal review of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Minister Anh said: “Following a trip by Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economics in late May, we had a working session with the EU and concluded the legal review and are preparing for signing the EVFTA. The signing is scheduled for later this year and parliamentary ratification in early 2019. If everything happens as planned, the agreement will set conditions for export next year.”
 Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom in Brussels. (photo: Kim Chung/VNA) |
During Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh’s official visit to Greece and Bulgaria this month, leaders of the two EU countries backed the signing and ratification of the EVFTA to facilitate Vietnamese trade with the EU.
Vietnam and Greece agreed to boost marine transport and logistics, shipbuilding, seaports, tourism, and agricultural processing, negotiate agreements on double taxation avoidance and marine transport, and implement the MoU on Vietnam-Greece cooperation in tourism, education, archeology, and culture exchange.
Vietnam and Bulgaria agreed to pilot production and direct supply models to the EU and other countries and to organize the 24th meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation and the 5th meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
Political, economic, trade, and investment relations generate momentum for Vietnam to boost its international status.