Tran Tuan An, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade; and Cecilia Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade issued a joint statement on October 19, 2018 in Brussels following their meeting on the sidelines of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM 12) The Vietnamese government and the European Commission (EC) pledged to implement the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) in a timely and effective manner.
The Vietnamese government is preparing plans to fulfill obligations under the free trade agreements while the EC supports the necessary reforms and adjustments through technical assistance. Both sides acknowledged the relevance of the trade and sustainable development chapter of the FTA and agreed to jointly promote initiatives in this field, including the ratification of the outstanding fundamental ILO conventions.
