Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) hands over the dilomatic notes to head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti on June 18

At the handover ceremony in Hanoi, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said the ratification of the two deals by the European Parliament in February and the Vietnamese National Assembly recently strongly affirmed both sides’ wish and determination to continue intensifying the Vietnam-EU comprehensive cooperation and partnership.

He asked relevant ministries and sectors of Vietnam and EU agencies to continue working closely together to help the EVFTA take effect soon, thus generating practical benefits for both sides’ people and businesses.

The official also called on EU member states to accomplish the ratification of the EVIPA as soon as possible.

For his part, Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, congratulated the country on completing the approval of the EVFTA and EVIPA.

He described the two sides’ ratification of the agreements as a historic milestone which creates important frameworks for enhancing bilateral trade and investment links, as well as multifaceted relations.

The EU will continue coordinating closely with Vietnam to effectively implement the EVFTA and urge its members to ratify the EVIPA, he added.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment expected the EVFTA and EVIPA will help raise the country’s GDP growth by 4.6 percent and exports to the EU by 42.7 percent by 2025.

Meanwhile, the European Commission estimated this region’s GDP will increase by 29.5 billion USD and exports to Vietnam will rise 29 percent by 2035.

Under the EVFTA’s regulations, as the EU side already notified Vietnam of its ratification of the agreement and Vietnam also officially handed over diplomatic notes informing the EU about its move, this deal is going to take effect on August 1.

Meanwhile, the EVIPA will come into force after it sails through parliaments of all EU member states./.VNA