Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (r) receives MEP and Committee Spokesman Gabriel Mato in Hà Nội on Monday. —VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is striving to have the European Commission’s ‘yellow card’ warning on Vietnamese seafood removed, said Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

While receiving a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries, led by MEP and Committee Spokesman Gabriel Mato in Hà Nội on Monday, PM Phúc said these measures included the issuance of the Law on Fisheries, implementing a national action plan on illegal fishing prevention and control, and increasing education and information dissemination to encourage fishermen to abide by related laws.

The Vietnamese leader said his country considers the EC’s ‘yellow card’ warning an opportunity to boost the fisheries sector’s sustainable and responsible development.

He said Việt Nam considers co-operation between its National Assembly and the European Parliament (EP) as an important pillar in ties between the country and European Union (EU).

Appraising the European Commission’s asking the European Council to consider signing the free trade agreement between Việt Nam and the EU (EVFTA), PM Phúc stressed the EP played an important role in EU decision making mechanisms.

Việt Nam wished to receive support from the EP to accelerate the signing and approval of the agreement, the PM said.

Mato said he and other parliamentarians in this delegation to Việt Nam were willing to support and approve the signing and adoption of the EVFTA.

His visit to Việt Nam was aimed at understanding and sharing with Việt Nam experiences in controlling illegal fishing, he said, adding that the EU was willing to work with all to tackle this issue.

He praised Việt Nam’s results in preventing illegal fishing in recent times, including the issuance and implementation of many related regulations, saying the EU wanted to continue to support Việt Nam in this field.

He said he believed that the visit to Việt Nam by the delegation would yield good results, which would lay as a foundation to propose the European Commission to remove the ‘yellow card’, helping enhance the co-operation between the two sides.

PM Phúc also mentioned the recent signing of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) between Việt Nam and the EU which aims to fight illegal logging and asked the parliament to soon approve the agreement. — VNS