Vietnam willing to connect ASEAN
Vietnam willing to connect ASEAN and EAEU: Deputy PM
Vietnam stands ready to work as a bridge to help Russia as well as the Eurasian
Economic Union (EAEU) expand ties with the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), towards a trade and investment agreement between the two
regions, a senior Vietnamese official said on September 4.
Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said at a discussion within the fifth
Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok city that during the tenure when
Vietnam assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship, cooperation and economic, trade and
investment links between the ten-member group and Russia, including the Far
Eastern region, are expected to experience new development orientations,
contributing to peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia-Pacific.
He reviewed milestones in cooperation between ASEAN and Russia and EAEU, with
the latest the signing of a memorandum of understanding on economic
collaboration between the grouping and the union on November 14, 2018.
The document has been seen as a dialogue foundation for the two sides to discuss
the possibility to expand cooperation across spheres, he said.
Last year, trade between ASEAN and EAEU reached about 23.15 billion USD, up 15
percent year-on-year. Among ASEAN member countries, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand
and Indonesia are the union’s major trade partners.
Trade between Vietnam and EAEU stood at 6.1 billion USD in 2018, a rise of 103
percent as compared with 2016.
To maintain the annual growth pace of trade between ASEAN and EAEU at about
25-30 percent, the Deputy PM suggested Vietnamese and Russian Governments join
hands in implementing measure packages to help businesses optimise tax
incentives, while signing special agreements to reduce non-tariff barriers
relating to technologies and quarantine.
The two countries should utilise their mutual trust and close ties to support
the partnership between ASEAN and EAEU, he said, noting that the fruitful
implementation of the FTA between Vietnam and EAEU would encourage other
countries to develop a similar deal between ASEAN and EAEU.
At the discussion, both Veronika Nikishina, Minister in charge of Trade of the
Eurasian Economic Commission, and Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian
Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, lauded Vietnam’s pioneer role in the
signing of the EAEU-Vietnam FTA.
They suggested concerned sides maximise incentives brought about by the
agreement, and deal with issues regarding transport and logistics.
Source: VNA