Trade and investment ties between Viet Nam and the EU have been significantly improved by a bilateral trade deal. Julien Guerrier, Ambassador of the EU to Viet Nam, spoke with VIR’s Thanh Tung about the cooperation prospects to build on such ties.

Official figures say bilateral trade between Viet Nam and the EU reached $73.8 billion in 2025, but the EU witnessed a trade surplus of $38.6 billion. Do you think that this figure will be a major concern for the EU, and what should be done to reduce it?
We expect that EU-Viet Nam trade and investment will continue to grow as it has over the past few years. Since August 2020, the EU–Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) contributed to improving investment conditions and market access for Viet Nam and the EU in each other’s markets.

We need to ensure the full and effective implementation of the EVFTA so that businesses can compete fairly in each other’s markets, and trade and investment can flow freely. This will allow companies to make the most of the opportunities which the EVFTA offers. European companies have excellent technologies to bring, for example in secure and trusted communications networks, aviation, renewable energy, port construction and logistics, or railways. We look forward to seeing the quality of these offers and the benefits they will bring to Viet Nam’s own ambitions fully reflected in EU companies’ successfully winning contracts in Viet Nam.

The upgrade of the EU-Viet Nam relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the first such upgrade for the EU with a country in Southeast-Asia, illustrates areas where the EU and Viet Nam intend to expand their cooperation in sectors of high interest for Viet Nam, and where EU business has competitive offers for Viet Nam. This upgrade also confirms the shared intent of the EU and Viet Nam to work together in supporting the multilateral trading system. In 2026, Viet Nam will also hold the rotating chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Its dialogue with the EU offers an additional opportunity for addressing key global trade themes that will also be quite relevant for Viet Nam’s own transition to a more advanced economy.

Will there be new cooperation between the two sides if the two sides will elevate relations, for example, any EU initiative to support enterprises from both sides?

The EU, member states, and businesses stand ready to work with Viet Nam in Viet Nam’s transition to a more advanced economy. The EU and Viet Nam see particular future potential in critical raw materials, energy, including safe and low-carbon energy and technology, circular economy, logistics, transport and infrastructure. This includes secure and trusted communications infrastructure, semiconductors, AI, and digitalisation, including critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, resilience and diversification of supply chains, as well as sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.

To make this concrete and practical, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela and EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas will open the first EU-Viet Nam Global Gateway Business and Investment Forum in Hanoi on March 24. It will focus on energy and sustainable transport to support Viet Nam’s green and digital transition as foundational pillars for the whole economy.

A central pillar of this cooperation is the Just Energy Transition Partnership, through which the EU and its member states mobilise investment and expertise to support Viet Nam in moving towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy and achieve its net-zero objective by 2050.

We are also working with Viet Nam in the transport sector, combining EU grants and concessional loans to accelerate decarbonisation while improving connectivity. New projects starting this year will focus on the low-carbon circular economy and on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.

Close cooperation as Team Europe with EU institutions, member states and businesses, as well as non-governmental organisations, business and academic organisations in Viet Nam, will ensure that we create tangible, inclusive and long-term benefits for businesses and citizens in the EU and Viet Nam.

In Viet Nam, the EU aims to mobilise high-quality investments that will foster innovation and create an enabling environment for long-term growth. How can Viet Nam attract high-quality investments?

Cooperation initiatives in transport, the circular economy, or on ESG standards are an important focus. Equally important is investment in skills development and innovation, to ensure that Viet Nam’s workforce and economy are future-ready and competitive.

At the same time, high-quality and high-tech European business offers will contribute to Viet Nam’s broader economic transformation objectives. To make it attractive, this should mean real business opportunities for European companies. The views of European business in Viet Nam as seen in the European Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam’s quarterly business confidence index are encouraging. Some 87 per cent of European investors would recommend Viet Nam as a business location.

However, there remain challenges like administrative procedures and paperwork, uncertainty about regulations, or frequent changes and uneven application of these regulations. Customs procedures, unclear or overlapping government responsibilities, and challenges to bringing foreign talent are also mentioned as impediments.

The EU, together with businesses and member states, stands ready to identify and develop solutions with Viet Nam that enable EU business to make its contribution. The EVFTA and its mechanisms, such as the EU-Viet Nam Trade Committee and the EU-Viet Nam Task Force, are an obvious starting point to develop the right solutions, but also to guide the work on future cooperation in sectors of mutual interest.

Viet Nam is increasing its public investment to achieve higher growth in 2026. Do you think that this will benefit investors from the EU?

Viet Nam and the EU intend to identify priority areas to expand market access for goods, services and public procurement, and to create business opportunities, in order to capitalise on each side’s strengths, needs and conditions. Viet Nam and the EU intend doing this on the basis of openness, transparency and fairness. Quality, trustworthiness and sustainably are values that EU companies can bring. With this, we all stand ready to support Viet Nam’s development and strategic autonomy. True business opportunities will be our strongest lever, and the best measure to gauge our shared success.

Source: VIR

• USTR Makes Findings and Proposes Action in 60 Section 301 Investigations Relating to Failures to Take Action on Trade in Forced Labor Goods
• [VCCI] The US officially initiates a Section 301 Investigation into Vietnam on Intellectual property
• General Secretary and President To Lam's working visit to three ASEAN countries: Demonstrating the stature of proactive and constructive diplomacy.
• Viet Nam accelerates innovation drive as skilled workforce becomes key to science and technology growth
• The US is increasing controls on AI chip exports