Luxembourg’s target growth for Vietnam

How do you assess the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Luxembourg as well as the potential for the relationship in the future?

The bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Vietnam are excellent. We just celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 20th anniversary of development cooperation between our two countries. We are looking back on a long range of development cooperation projects exchange visits that have bolstered the friendship between our countries. The state of relations is not a matter of quantity of commercial exchange and statistical figures, but essentially of quality of the relationship. Our two countries have supported each other in international forums and Vietnam has found in Luxembourg a reliable friend to present its interests within the context of the European Union. But there is obviously still much potential to develop our relationship in the future.

Luxembourg is now among top European investors in Vietnam, but the trade turnover between the two countries remains insignificant. What is your opinion on this?

The fact that Luxembourg appears as a top investor in Vietnam reflects the importance of Luxembourg’s financial sector and the strength of its international exposure. You are right to point out that trade in goods has remained at a level which is not satisfactory. The situation is not the same for the trade in services, which has seen an important increase over the last three years, with Luxembourg being a net exporter. Having said that, more efforts clearly need to be made to promote mutually beneficial trade.

Could you please define the position of Vietnam in Luxembourg’s cooperation with regional nations, and what is Luxembourg’s direction in the relationship with Vietnam in the future?

Being a relatively small country with limited means, Luxembourg had to opt for a focused approach in its development cooperation policy. Vietnam is one of only two countries in the Southeast Asia region Luxembourg chose as a target country for a lasting engagement in the field of development cooperation. The opening of a regional cooperation office in Hanoi in 2003 was an important and logical step in our gradual approach. Since that time, thanks also to its development cooperation agency, LuxDev, Luxembourg has pursued a coherent and continuous policy of development projects in the fields of local and rural development, health, education and vocational training that have been appreciated by our Vietnamese partners.

More recently the funding of professional training programmes and technical assistance in the financial sector has been a step towards broadening this cooperation. Let me say as well that Luxembourg envisions its role within the wider context of relations between Vietnam and the European Union bearing in mind that the conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 2012 has crafted a new promising structure. To broaden our mutual relations and foster people-to-people contacts, I would finally like to stress the interest of promoting educational and cultural exchange. I altogether embrace the future of our relations with confidence and optimism.