European Council President to officially visit Vietnam

At the invitation of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, President of the European Council Antonio Costa will pay an official visit to Vietnam from 28 to 29. 1. 2026.

Accompanying President of the European Council Antonio Costa on an official visit to Vietnam this time were Ms. Anna-Maria Boura - Head of the External Advisory Board, Office of the President; Ms. Veronika Şentürk Musilova - External Advisory Board, Office of the President; Ms. Mariaasik Tom - Spokesperson, Office of the President.

Vietnam and the EU officially established diplomatic relations on December 28. 11. 1990. In 1996, the EU opened a representative delegation of the European Commission (EC) in Hanoi.

Vietnam and the EU have 4 bilateral agreements in effect: (i) the Comprehensive Agreement for Partnership and Cooperation (PCA); (ii) the Agreement on Free Trade (EVFTA); (iii) the Agreement on Voluntary Partnership on Law Enforcement, Forest Governance and Forestry Trade (VPA/FLEGT); (iv) The Agreement on Establishing a framework for Vietnam to participate in EU crisis management activities (FPA).

Currently, 21/27 EU countries have ratified the Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). There are 6 EU member states that have not yet ratified EVIPA: Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Slovenia.

There are 8 cooperation and dialogue mechanisms between Vietnam and the EU including: Vietnam - EU Joint Committee on PCA implementation and 3 Subcommittees (politics; Sustainable development; Good governance, rule of law and Human Rights); Trade Committee implementing EVFTA; Annual Human Rights Dialogue; National Defense - Security Dialogue; Dialogue mechanism between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the European Parliament.

Bilateral trade turnover: Two-way trade turnover in the first 11 months of 2025 reached over 66.8 billion USD, up 6.6% over the same period in 2024. The EU is the 4th largest trading partner (after China, the US and South Korea), the 3rd largest export market (after China and the US) and the 5th largest import market (after China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China)) of Vietnam. Vietnam is the 16th largest trading partner of the EU and the largest in ASEAN.

The total EU FDI in Vietnam reached 30 billion USD (excluding third-party investment). The EU ranks 6th out of 140 countries and territories with investment capital in Vietnam. Vietnam has 98 investment projects to the EU with a total capital of 434.88 million USD.

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