CCIR's Comanescu: Romania can be perceived by Vietnamese entrepreneurs as a hub for the trade in EU area

Romania can and we hope that it will be perceived by the Vietnamese entrepreneurs as a hub for the trade in the European Union (EU) area, Counselor on Foreign Affairs of the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR) Lazar Comanescu said at the Romania-Vietnam Business Forum held in Bucharest. 

"In the past three years, the Romanian-Vietnamese relations saw an upward trend, very intense really. This meeting in Bucharest takes places in a significant context including from the perspective of Romania being in the EU and, on the other hand, Vietnam being in ASEAN [the Association of South-East Asian Nations]. This year, a cooperation and investment agreement was signed between Vietnam and the European Union, under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Not last, it is also important to say that the Romanian economy, the Romanian entrepreneurs, the Romanian business community must be more present in the international economy and, especially, in the area outside the European Union. I believe that there is no better opportunity than the one related to the Romanian-Vietnamese relations. Both parties have constant economic growths. Romania can and we hope that it will be perceived by the Vietnamese entrepreneurs as a hub for the trade in the European Union area, the same as we perceive Vietnam as a hub for another important region, which is the ASEAN region," said Comanescu. 

On June 30 2019, in Hanoi, EU and Vietnam signed two agreements: a free trade agreement and an investment protection agreement. 

The free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam stipulates the elimination, almost entirely (99 per cent) of the custom duties between the two blocks and 65 per cent of the export duties of the Union to Vietnam will disappear as soon as the document comes into force, with the remaining taxes to be eliminated gradually during the next 10 years. 

Vietnam is the second trade partner of the EU among the ASEAN member states, after Singapore, with a total of 47.6 billion US Dollars per year from trade in good and 3.6 billion US dollars from services. While the EU investment stocks in Vietnam are low, with 8.3 billion euro recorded in 2016, increasingly more European companies are establishing in this country to cover the Mekong region. 

The main EU imports from Vietnam include telecommunications equipment, clothing and food products. The EU exports to Vietnam machinery and transport equipment, chemical products and agricultural products. 

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, in partnership with the Ministry for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Social Republic of Vietnam on Friday organise the Romania-Vietnam Business Forum. 

The Romania-Vietnam Business Forum takes place on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Romania-Vietnam Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation.