A yarn production line at Jasan Textile Dyeing Company Limited, Pho Noi B Textile and Garment Industrial Zone in northern Hung Yen province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Commitments to providefair and equal treatment as well as protection for investors of both sides inthe freshly signed EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) areexpected to help Vietnam attract major groups.
In a recent interview with the Vietnam NewsAgency, PhD Phan Huu Thang, former Director of the Foreign Investment Agencyunder the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said the EVIPA was signed at thesame time as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
The EVFTA’s commitments on trade and servicesare stronger than World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and those in other deals.For example, seven years after the agreement takes effect, 99.2 percent oftariff lines will be removed, helping promote investment from the EU and othercountries into Vietnam, he said.
In addition, Vietnam has committed to providingbetter conditions for the EU in professional services, finance,telecommunications, and transportation as well as the fields of the bloc’sstrengths like manufacturing, clean energy and renewable energy to attractattention from European investors, he added.
Compared to other agreements on investmentprotection and promotion Vietnam has signed with EU member nations, the EVIPAwill help Vietnam achieve a balance between attracting investment andprotecting national interests.
The EVIPA supplements some regulations to ensurethe right to adjust policies of the investment receiving country, especiallypolicies on public health protection, environmental safety, consumers andcultural diversity, he said.
The signing of the EVIPA is a big triumph in the international economic, political and investment ties of Vietnam,helping increase the country’s position in the global arena and boostinvestment from the EU and elsewhere, Thang stressed.
He added that if Vietnamese businesses couldoptimise opportunities from the EVFTA and EVIPA, they would be successful in workingwith EU investors.
Vietnam should redouble its efforts to improvethe investment environment and legal system as well as policies related toinvestment, businesses, land and planning, while pushing ahead withadministrative reforms and improving public services, he said.
The country should build a national actionprogramme to implement the agreements to increase the quality of foreigninvestment into Vietnam, he added.-VNA
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