Viet Nam and the EU signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and launched the FTA talks in 2012. Both sides have concluded 9 rounds of FTA talks and are determined to ink the trade deal by the end of this year.

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.

As of August this year, 23 out of 28 EU members had pledged to pour US$18.55 billion in 1,503 projects in the Southeast Asian country.

The Netherlands is the top European investor with total registered capital of US$6.45 billion, followed by France with US$3.3 billion and the UK with US$2.83 billion.

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./.

By Hai Minh