Secretary of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh speaks at the seminar on August 2, 2019.

The event in Vung Tau city attracted more than 100 delegates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), along with Vietnamese and European businesses.

Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said the EVFTA and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), both signed on June 30, open a “new horizon” for stronger, extensive and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, meeting the demand of their localities, businesses and people.

To effectively implement the two deals, the Vietnamese Prime Minister has requested ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises to make thorough preparations and stay active to optimise the benefits generated by the two agreements, especially the EVFTA – one of the first new-generation FTAs to be carried out in Vietnam, he noted.

EuroCham Vice Chairman Jean-Jacques Bouflet said the EVFTA is the result of unceasing efforts by both Vietnam and the EU, affirming that it is an important milestone on the path to a broader trade agreement with the Southeast Asian region.

European businesses consider Ba Ria-Vung Tau a key locality for cooperation activities once the EVFTA is ratified and takes effect, he said, noting the evidence that nearly 40 European firms attended the seminar.

At the seminar, participants looked into issues related to seaports, seaport logistics, industry, hi-tech agriculture and high-quality tourism, which are also the fields in which Ba Ria-Vung Tau can make use of chances under the EVFTA. They also discussed the province’s attraction of and support for investors.