Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference after their talks in Warsaw on the morning of January 16, 2025 (local time). (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)
In 2024, the world situation continues to fluctuate in a complex manner. Not excluded from these developments, the European region faces many challenges, notably hot spots of conflict that have not yet found a thorough solution; the political situation of many countries in the region is unstable, economic growth is slow, unsustainable and uneven.
However, Europe remains an important global player, a major trading partner and investor for many countries and regions. With its ability to expand its global engagement and leverage its economic and regulatory power, Europe has always had a leading role in shaping international standards and norms.
2024 - Strengthening the foundation to create momentum for growth
European countries appreciate Vietnam's potential and consider it an important partner in their Asia-Pacific strategy.
For its part, Vietnam considers European countries as important partners, large markets, potential sources of direct investment and donors with goodwill. In addition, the historical and cultural ties between Vietnam and European countries are also factors that facilitate the development of bilateral relations.
With trust and efforts from both sides, the relationship between Vietnam and European countries will maintain its momentum of development in 2024. The two sides have proactively and actively implemented a series of foreign affairs activities at many levels, in many forms and in many fields, achieving many outstanding achievements and results.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)
In terms of politics and diplomacy, Vietnam's friendship and cooperation with traditional friends and important partners in the region continue to be strengthened with increasing political trust.
In 2024, the two sides exchanged 30 high-level delegations, an increase of 1.5 times compared to 2023. Vietnam and European countries signed 42 cooperation documents in many fields, concretizing upgraded relationship frameworks and realizing bilateral and international commitments.
Notable among them is the official visit to France and attendance at the 19th Francophone Summit by General Secretary and President To Lam (October 4-7, 2024).
During the visit, the two sides upgraded their diplomatic relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, making France the first European Union (EU) member and the second European country to have a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam.
Along with that are the official visits to Hungary and Romania (January 2024) and the attendance at the expanded BRICS Summit in Russia (October 23) by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; State visits to Vietnam by German President Frank Walter Steinmeier (January 23-24) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (June 19-20)...
Through active delegation exchanges, Vietnam and European countries continue to maintain established cooperation mechanisms such as strategic dialogues, joint committees, periodic political consultations at all levels, and joint working groups with 9 countries/partners including Russia, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Poland, EU, UK, and Vatican.
At multilateral forums, the two sides maintain close coordination, promote a culture of dialogue and cooperation, and “increase similarities and narrow differences.”
During exchanges during visits and cooperation mechanisms, leaders of European countries expressed their respect for Vietnam's increasingly important role, position and international prestige, and wished to work with Vietnam to consolidate and foster relations and establish a partnership framework suitable to the new situation.
Economic and trade relations continue to be a bright spot in the relationship between Vietnam and European countries. Vietnam-EU trade turnover in 2024 is expected to reach 68 billion USD, up 16% compared to 2023.
The EU has become Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner and 5th largest investment partner with a total accumulated investment capital of over 30 billion USD; and continues to be Vietnam's leading ODA donor.
Vietnam continues to effectively implement free trade agreements with the EU (EVFTA), the UK (UKVFTA) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU-VFTA); continues to negotiate a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA); urges EU member countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); promotes the signing/effective implementation of projects using ODA/preferential credit from countries/partners such as the EU, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland... thereby creating important resources for the country's development in the new era.
With the policy of "taking people and businesses as the center", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked with EU countries to organize many activities to connect and support Vietnamese businesses with European partners, the Workshop "Promoting Vietnam-Europe labor cooperation" (October 2024) and the Discussion "Vietnam-EU cooperation in semiconductor human resource training: Potential and opportunities" (December 2024) in Hanoi, contributing to opening up a new direction in enhancing substantive and effective cooperation between Vietnam and the region.
European Representative Agencies also participate in activities and events organized by Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities.
In addition to traditional fields, Vietnam and European countries are actively seeking opportunities to expand cooperation in new fields, in line with the world's development trends and Vietnam's development priorities such as innovation, information technology, digital transformation, green transformation, green finance, renewable energy, labor, semiconductor human resource training, connectivity and people-to-people diplomacy are also of interest and promoted by both sides.
In 2024, Vietnam also resumed direct flights with Russia and opened additional direct flights to Germany and Kazakhstan. As a result, the number of European tourists visiting Vietnam in 2024 increased by 17.9% over the same period last year, reaching nearly 392,000.
This is a signal that Vietnam continues to be an increasingly attractive destination for European partners, investors and tourists.
During the difficult times of overcoming the consequences of floods and natural disasters, the Governments and peoples of many European countries have always stood side by side with the Government and people of Vietnam, and have had many forms of timely visits and sharing with the Party, State and people of Vietnam, expressing deep affection, concern and appreciation for the friendly relationship with Vietnam.
The leaders of our Party and State also regularly request the governments of European countries to continue to pay attention to and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Europe, with over 1 million people, to live, study, do business and integrate into the host society, promoting their role as a bridge and actively contributing to Vietnam's relations with other countries.
2025 - Expectations to Nurture Aspirations
In 2025, the country is ready to enter a new era, an era of national growth.
Classifying and processing tuna products for export. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)
Vietnam's foreign affairs and diplomacy sector continues to innovate its thinking and actions, playing a creative and dynamic role, opening up new opportunities for the country to rise up, effectively serving security and development interests, enhancing the country's position, and contributing to building a fair, peaceful, and stable international order.
Foreign affairs and diplomacy activities will continue to be vibrant, including foreign affairs activities with European countries and partners. This is the year Vietnam celebrates the anniversary of establishing relations with many European countries, notably the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Russia and Central Eastern European countries including Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Albania; 50 years of diplomatic relations with Germany, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus; 35 years of diplomatic relations with the EU.
With the foundation of friendship and tradition that is constantly being consolidated, along with open cooperation space ready to be exploited, in 2025, Vietnam has identified four key areas of cooperation with countries and partners in the European region to create breakthroughs in bilateral relations, contributing to further enhancing the country's position in the era of national development:
Firstly, continue to maintain a strategic environment of peace, friendship, and cooperation favorable for development through strengthening cooperation with important partners and traditional friends in Europe, focusing on promoting and elevating relationship frameworks, contributing to enhancing political trust and creating momentum to promote cooperation in other fields.
At the beginning of 2025, during the working visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (January 2025), Vietnam established a Strategic Partnership framework with the Czech Republic and upgraded relations to a Comprehensive Partnership with Switzerland.
Second, promote the implementation of diplomatic work for development in the spirit of serving businesses, people and localities more effectively, deeply, substantially, with sharper and more creative thinking to make a breakthrough, bringing the country into a new era. With that spirit, it is necessary to promote cooperation in areas where Europe has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as digital transformation, green transformation, energy transformation, semiconductor human resource training, high technology, innovation, labor cooperation, tourism... in a specialized, thematic, and partner-specific direction.
In addition, continue to effectively implement free trade agreements with the EU, the UK and the Eurasian Economic Union, continue to mobilize the remaining EU countries to soon complete the ratification of the EVIPA Agreement, mobilize the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports, actively implement the Fair Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), coordinate with countries and partners in cooperation initiatives such as the Global Gateway Initiative, the EU's Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy.
Third, promote cooperation in the field of science and technology, train high-quality human resources to serve green transformation, digital transformation, and sustainable development; continue to research and propose European countries and partners to expand cooperation in areas suitable to Vietnam's development goals and orientations such as semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy.
Fourth, maximize the potential and strength of the community of more than 1 million Vietnamese people in Europe out of the total 6 million Vietnamese people abroad, mobilize the strength of overseas Vietnamese to continue contributing to the country's construction; continue to improve domestic policies and laws, create conditions for Vietnamese intellectuals and businessmen in Europe to easily return to the country to live, teach, invest, and do business, thereby strengthening ties with the homeland; at the same time, encourage people to integrate, play the role of a "bridge" in friendly relations, and be "ambassadors" of the Vietnamese people.
In the multi-colored picture of Vietnam's foreign affairs and diplomacy, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and European countries and partners is a bright color, painted and embellished by generations of leaders and people of both sides over many generations, and increasingly shaped sustainably, despite the challenges of time and historical circumstances.
Together with European countries, Vietnam will forever cherish the achievements of the past heritage, confidently grasp all opportunities of the present to open new pages in the journey of cooperation and development with European countries, contributing to realizing the country's aspirations to rise in the new era, contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world./.
(Vietnam+)
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