PM starts European tour

Photo source VOV

The Government chief will also attend the 10th ASEM Summit from October 16-17 and visit the Vatican on October 18 at the invitations of Italian PM Matteo Renzi and Pope Francis respectively.

PM Dung is accompanied by Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh, Minister-Chairman of the Office of the Government Nguyen Van Nen, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son.

Viet Nam-Belgium relations

The two countries are focusing cooperation in such priority fields like seaport infrastructure development, transport, green technology, healthcare, educations and others.

The two way trade revenue rose to about US$1.2 billion in the first six months this year.

Viet Nam is the only Asian country to receive development assistance from Belgium with the total value of US$78 million pledged for the 2011-2015 period.

Photo source VOV

Accelerating FTA talks with the EU

PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s upcoming visit to the European Union (EU) aims to discuss ways to accelerate the free trade agreement talks between Viet Nam and the Union and strengthen the bilateral coordination at multilateral forums.

The EU is the second biggest trade partner and the largest importer of Viet Nam. The two-way trade value rose from US$295 million in 1990 to US$33.7 billion in 2013, statistics show.

Noticeably, Viet Nam gained an average trade surplus of US$3-5 billion annually over the past ten years.

The EU is also a major donor for Viet Nam, with €400 million committed for the 2014-2020 period, focusing on sustainable energy and governance.

Viet Nam-Germany ties

Germany is one of Viet Nam’s top trade partners in the Europe, with the two-way trade value reaching US$7.7 billion in 2013, up 18% against the previous year.

Viet Nam is home to a number of Germany’s multinational companies like Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, Bilfinger, Bosch, B.Braun, Messer, Deutsche Bank, and Allianz among others.

In terms of development assistance, Germany has granted over US$1.5 billion in official development assistance for Viet Nam since 1990.

An active member of ASEM

PM Nguyen Tan Dung will join other ASEM leaders to discuss a range of issues, including Asia-Europe connectivity and global and regional matters at the 10th ASEM Summit scheduled to take place in Italy next week.

The theme of the 10th ASEM Summit - "Responsible Partnership for Growth and Security" - reflects the enlarging scope of the EU-Asia relationship.

Viet Nam has been joining various initiatives on food and energy security, water resources management, climate change, green growth, social welfare, tourism, human resource development, transport among others.

And with the Vatican

Over the past years, the relations between Viet Nam and the Vatican have been developing positively. Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, PM Nguyen Tan Dung, and NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung met the Pope during their separate visits to Italy.

During the 5th round of talks of the Viet Nam-Vatican Joint Working Group, the Vatican side thanked the Vietnamese authorities at all levels for helping Viet Nam’s Catholic Church accomplish its mission, whilst recognizing the progress made on Viet Nam’s religious policy, as evidenced in the 2013 revised Constitution.

Both sides agreed the Viet Nam-Vatican relations have developed positively, referring to the numerous contacts established at all levels, the organization of meetings and joint working groups, and the activities of the papal representative in Viet Nam.