Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng (right) had talks with Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, outgoing Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Việt Nam, in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng received Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, outgoing Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Việt Nam, in Hà Nội on Monday.

President Thưởng lauded the diplomat’s significant contributions to promoting the Việt Nam-EU relationship, especially the signing of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the sides' efforts to hasten the early ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by EU member states.

Việt Nam appreciated the EU's support in COVID-19 vaccines, which helped the country overcome the most challenging phase of the pandemic, he said.

Thưởng affirmed that Vietnamese businesses were working to meet the EU’s green and clean requirements for imports. Việt Nam was also making significant efforts to realise its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and hoped to receive financial and technological assistance from developed countries, including the EU.

He pointed out a fact that Việt Nam had been serious in implementing regulations and recommendations related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to ensure the conditions for the EU to lift its "yellow card" warning against the nation's fisheries sector.

The State leader hoped the bloc could recognise and fully appreciate the efforts made by the Vietnamese people and State.

"Việt Nam always values human rights and the country respects, facilitates, and encourages activities of socio-political and non-governmental organisations operating in Việt Nam," he said.

In response, Aliberti stressed that thanks to the EVFTA, Việt Nam's exports to the EU had experienced positive growth, and that EU businesses had high expectations for this agreement. The EU would continue to promote early ratification of the EVIPA by member states, he noted.

He said the EU was working closely with Việt Nam to address the IUU issue and assessed that Việt Nam was moving in the right direction and had demonstrated improvement in this area.

The EU placed its trust in Việt Nam as an important partner in the green transition process and would collaborate with Việt Nam to cope with climate change, the diplomat affirmed.

He vowed to make further contributions to the Việt Nam-EU relationship in his future positions. — VNS