Hanoi (VNA)- A conference discussing measures to fully tap into opportunities brought aboutby the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and support Vietnamese enterprisesin promoting post-pandemic development was held in Hanoi on June 29.

The event is part of a chain of seminars hosted by the Ministry of Industry andTrade after the National Assembly officially ratified the agreement on June 8.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanhsaid that with its deep commitments, the EVFTA is hoped to further promote tradeand investment relations between Vietnam and the EU in particular as well as fosterVietnam’s international economic integration in general.

Vietnam’s export and import turnover were down 2.8 percent in the first five monthsof 2020, he said, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once in effect, the EVFTA will provide impetus for Vietnamese enterprises to recoverand promote production and business activities, he said.

Businesses can join new supply chains to replace traditional supplychains that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis, while expanding and diversifyingtheir export markets to minimise dependence on certain market groups, he added.

Pham Tuan Anh, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministryof Finance, said that similar to FTAs Vietnam has signed with partners and implementedpreviously, MoF is also proactive in building and implementing relevant plans itis in charge of.

According to Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, Vice Chairwomanand General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso), the implementation of the agreement will help businesses accelerate theirexports, especially to the European market, because it accounts for nearly 30 percentof Vietnam’s export turnover.

According to representatives from Lefaso, it is necessary to develop support industriesbecause the financial strength of small- and medium-sized enterprises is not enoughto be self-sufficient in producing raw materials, so strategies to strengthen thesupply of raw materials for production are necessary.

Businesses also need to participate in domestic and foreign chains and be closelylinked with domestic and foreign suppliers to respond to fluctuations in a timely manner, theysaid./.