NA chair welcomes new EU representative

HA NOI — National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung yesterday welcomed new head of the European Union Delegation to Viet Nam, ambassador Franz Jessen.

Hung appreciated the EU's support for Viet Nam and expected the help would continue.

"The EU has always been a leading partner with priorities in Viet Nam's foreign policies," he said.

The Viet Nam-EU relations had experienced a leap forwards over the past few years, he said. Two-way trade volumes reached US$24 billion last year, 36 per cent up on 2010.

The signing of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between the two sides and the start of negotiations for a free-trade agreement in Brussels earlier this week were important milestones in the bilateral relations.

Hung also appreciated positive development between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the European Parliament.

For his part, Jessen affirmed Viet Nam's important position in the EU's external relations.

The EU always gave priority to the Association of South East Asian Nations and particularly Viet Nam's role in bridging the EU with ASEAN, he said.

Jessen also said he would support ties between Viet Nam's National Assembly and the European Parliament. — VNS