UK newly appointed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson spoke about cooperations after Brexit (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Themed “Brexit and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) from the perspective of integration”, the workshop acknowledged that ASEAN holds great potential for trade cooperation with the EU as ASEAN serves as both a market and a gateway for the EU to access the Asia-Pacific region. Most Southeast Asian countries consider the EU a strategic partner and hope for enhanced economic ties with the union across many fields.

In the context of post Brexit downturn, experts said the UK may turn its eyes to Asia-Pacific.  Apart from the European market, the UK may diversify its own trade and ease the dependence on its neighbors, for which Asia would be a dynamic and promising destination.

According to experts, this will create advantages for the ASEAN Economic Community to establish a united market, where trade and investment are liberalized in a bid to raise ASEAN’s global competitiveness. In the long-run, this is a good opportunity for ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, to enhance their trade and investment ties with the EU.