In an unique interview with Euractiv, His Excellency Lê Hoài Trung, Foreign Minister of Vietnam, displays on the nation’s diplomatic achievements, its complete partnership with the European Union, and its rising position inside ASEAN and past.
He says Vietnam has advanced from a post-war nation to a assured world actor, a logo of openness and pragmatic diplomacy, dedicated to dialogue and multilateral cooperation.
EV: In 2025, Vietnam and the EU rejoice 35 years of diplomatic relations. What’s your evaluation of the Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation between Vietnam and the EU?
LHT: After 35 years since establishing diplomatic relations, our partnership has achieved outstanding progress, significantly because the improve to the Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation in 2012. Viet Nam is the ASEAN nation with the very best variety of cooperation mechanisms with the EU.
The two sides have signed or adopted six agreements and established eight cooperation mechanisms, serving as a catalyst for a more in-depth, more practical, and complete relationship based mostly on political belief, open dialogue, shared pursuits, and joint efforts to beat variations. Delegation exchanges in any respect ranges have been promoted, most notably by high-level visits.
Economic, funding, and sustainable improvement cooperation stand out as vivid spots.
After 5 years of efficient implementation of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), two-way commerce has grown 10-20 per cent yearly, regardless of the opposed impression of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, bilateral commerce grew over 10 per cent, reaching $68.4 billion, and seven.7 per cent ($48.4 billion) within the first eight months of 2025. The EU is Viet Nam’s sixth-largest investor, fifth-largest buying and selling accomplice, and main supplier of official improvement help (ODA).
The EU has supported Viet Nam in judicial reform, training improvement, forestry enchancment, enterprise setting enhancement, and varied local weather and environmental change tasks below the Global Gateway framework, together with the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with the International Partners Group (IPG). Notably, Viet Nam is certainly one of three key JETP companions of the EU, alongside Indonesia and South Africa.
Defence and safety cooperation has been strengthened.
In 2024, Viet Nam opened a Defence Attaché Office in Belgium, concurrently accredited to the EU, and since 2022 has despatched officers yearly to take part within the EU Training Mission within the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA).
Cooperation in training, science and know-how, innovation, power, tradition, tourism, sports activities, and people-to-people exchanges has additionally expanded.
EV: What are the prospects and alternatives for bilateral relations within the coming years?
LHT: I consider there stays huge potential for cooperation. Politically, each side ought to proceed delegation exchanges, particularly at excessive ranges, and put together for the upcoming go to to Viet Nam by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later this 12 months, aiming to raise relations.
In the economic system, commerce, and funding, I hope the remaining eight EU Member States will quickly ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). Maintaining and implementing present cooperation mechanisms, together with the “Task Force” between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security in 2025, will assist handle mutual considerations successfully.
I additionally suggest that the EU facilitate smoother journey for Vietnamese enterprises and residents, together with by extra versatile visa insurance policies and preferential entry situations. Recently, Viet Nam prolonged its unilateral visa exemption (as much as 45 days) to 12 further Member States from August 2025 for 5 years.
Just power transition and sustainable improvement are key areas the place the EU’s strengths align with Viet Nam’s priorities.
Access to concessional finance, know-how, capital, and experience will assist implement the JETP with the IPG, co-chaired by the EU and the UK.
Simultaneously, Viet Nam is selling science, know-how, and innovation nationally. I hope the EU will help rising industries resembling AI, semiconductors, satellite tv for pc improvement, cloud computing, and high-value analysis tasks at main European universities, significantly in Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
One remaining difficulty is the EU’s “yellow card” on unlawful, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which has persevered for eight years. Fully conscious of this matter, Viet Nam has strengthened its authorized framework and brought measures to stop IUU actions, together with stopping Vietnamese vessels from unlawful fishing overseas.
We consider the Commission will quickly carry the IUU “yellow card”, safeguarding fishermen’s livelihoods whereas supporting coastal communities in transitioning to sustainable fisheries and advancing cooperation in marine economic system, offshore wind power, ports, and chilly storage.
Finally, I hope the EU will proceed supporting Viet Nam on the South China Sea difficulty, sustaining maritime and aviation safety based mostly on worldwide legislation, significantly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. Mutual exchanges and help inside ASEAN-EU mechanisms, ASEM, AIPA, ARF, EAS, the United Nations, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will stay essential.
EV: People-to-people exchanges, significantly in training and tradition, are sometimes described as a bridge of belief. How do you see their position in Vietnam-EU relations?
LHT: Indeed, they’re a ‘bridge of belief’ and a ‘bridge of friendship’ that retains relations shut and enduring. Such exchanges foster robust ties between Viet Nam and the EU as a complete, and with every Member State individually.
Educational cooperation has educated many generations of Vietnamese intellectuals, employees, and expert labourers in Europe, particularly from the Seventies to the Nineteen Nineties, who returned to play key roles in nationwide improvement.
Many of Viet Nam’s leaders studied in Europe earlier than assuming duties from central to native ranges. Diplomats educated in Europe have considerably contributed to strengthening multifaceted cooperation between Viet Nam and EU Member States. The Vietnamese group and alumni networks in Europe additionally play a necessary position in connecting and consolidating relations.
I firmly consider that cooperation in training, tradition, and people-to-people exchanges will proceed to boost mutual belief, understanding, and empathy, strengthening our partnership additional.
EV: Vietnam is taking part in an more and more necessary position inside ASEAN. How do you assess its place in selling ASEAN-EU relations and cooperation potentials in sustainable improvement, innovation, and digital infrastructure?
LHT: 2025 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Viet Nam’s accession to ASEAN, an important platform for Viet Nam’s safety, improvement, and total international coverage. Viet Nam has actively contributed to peace, safety, stability, and improvement within the area.
ASEAN-EU dialogue, established in 1977, has developed considerably. Viet Nam served as ASEAN-EU Coordinator from 2012-2015, serving to advance the partnership, culminating within the improve to a Strategic Partnership in 2020 when Viet Nam chaired ASEAN.
With robust Viet Nam-EU relations, Viet Nam is well-positioned to function a bridge in advancing ASEAN-EU cooperation. The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 opens new potential with the EU in sustainable improvement, innovation, and digital infrastructure – an inevitable development in immediately’s period.
We admire the EU’s dedication of €10 billion to ASEAN connectivity tasks by the Global Gateway by 2027, supporting financial restructuring, clear power transition, digital infrastructure, educational trade, and well being system strengthening.
To unlock this potential, the EU can work with ASEAN nations, together with Viet Nam, to enhance frameworks for renewable power, a simply transition, and balancing progress with environmental safety, whereas selling analysis, know-how switch, and useful resource mobilisation for inexperienced and digital infrastructure.
Flagship ASEAN tasks such because the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) provide main alternatives for the EU to boost cooperation. Sustainable improvement, nevertheless, should guarantee long-term livelihoods, significantly by marine useful resource administration and addressing IUU fishing.
Beyond sustainable improvement and innovation, ASEAN-EU cooperation holds nice promise in commerce and funding. A region-to-region Free Trade Agreement (FTA) must be a objective to pursue, leveraging the EU-Viet Nam FTA as a basis.
Trilateral frameworks, resembling Viet Nam-EU-Lao PDR or Viet Nam-EU-Cambodia, might implement digital infrastructure, fashionable railways, or expressway tasks.
To strengthen the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership, we have to search widespread floor, minimise variations, and harness both sides’s strengths to grab new alternatives amid the evolving worldwide context and organisational capacities.
EV: What’s your evaluation of Vietnam’s diplomatic achievements over the previous 80 years, and its orientation within the new context?
LHT: Viet Nam’s diplomacy, based by President Hồ Chí Minh, our nice chief and an excellent diplomat, has left profound imprints throughout each stage of our historical past – from the wrestle for independence, wars of resistance, to immediately’s nationwide building and defence.
From early independence, Viet Nam expressed to the UN its want to be buddies with all nations and to pursue “openness and cooperation in all fields”. The Đổi Mới (Renovation) course of has opened the nation, normalised and expanded relations, supported improvement, and enabled Viet Nam to play an lively worldwide position. Guided by multilateralisation and diversification, Viet Nam now has diplomatic relations with 195 nations and Comprehensive Partnerships or larger with 38 nations.
Diplomacy facilitated financial openness, reworking Viet Nam right into a dynamic market economic system built-in into worldwide commerce.
Defence, safety, and diplomacy have collectively constructed peaceable borders, strengthened friendships, safeguarded sovereignty, promoted cooperation in resolving border points, making a beneficial setting for socio-economic improvement.
Viet Nam’s worldwide picture is revered for its broad diplomatic outreach and its contributions to regional and world points. Many world leaders and organisations recognise Viet Nam as a “mannequin of peace and sustainable improvement”, elevating the voice of growing nations.
Going ahead, Viet Nam’s international coverage will proceed to prioritise independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, diversification, multilateralisation, and complete integration.
Maintaining peace and stability stays the inspiration for nationwide improvement. Viet Nam additionally seeks to contribute extra actively to a good and equitable worldwide order, upholding conventional values of equality, mutual respect, and mutually useful cooperation.
Viet Nam engages proactively in worldwide integration, addressing disputes by dialogue, upholding worldwide legislation and the UN Charter, and contributing to peace and stability globally. We hope nations, companions, and buddies will proceed to help Viet Nam on this new period of improvement.
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