HÀ NỘI — The first meeting of the political affairs sub-committee of the Joint Committee under the EU-Việt Nam Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement (PCA) was held in Hà Nội on Monday.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Tô Anh Dũng and Deputy Managing Director for Asia and Pacific of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Paola Pampaloni co-chaired the event, which took place after the European Parliament ratified the landmark EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) on February 12.

The two delegation heads rejoiced at active developments of the Việt Nam-EU relations over the past three decades, with the realisation of outcomes of the first meeting of the Joint Committee in Hà Nội last May, and expressed their hope for deepened comprehensive cooperation.

Dũng suggested the two sides enhance all-level delegation exchanges and join hands to organise the activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties.

He also called for the early implementation of the EVFTA and the EVIPA, and appealed to the EU to remove the “yellow card” warning on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) it levied against Việt Nam.

The two sides also discussed priorities and specific measures to promote cooperation between Việt Nam and the EU across spheres, along with regional and international issues of shared concern.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they stressed that disputes must be handled by peaceful measures, in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They backed the maintenance of security and safety of navigation and aviation, and respect for law in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), and emphasised the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s increasingly important role in keeping regional peace and stability.

Việt Nam applauded the EU’s role in efforts to improve the efficiency of global governance and regional connectivity.

Meanwhile, the EU highly valued Việt Nam’s socio-economic achievements as well as its position in the region, hoped for further coordination to beef up ASEAN-EU and EU-Việt Nam relations, and agreed to strengthen collaboration in global issues, thus contributing to peace and development in the region and the world at large. — VNS