Ambassador Sean Doyle - Head of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam - was the main speaker at the regular meeting on May 20, 2010 of the International Cultural and Economic Exchange Club of the Center for International Cultural Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities.The topic he presented to the audience was “Vietnam - EU Relations”. Along with Mr. Sean Doyle, the talk was also attended by over 10 ambassadors of European and Asian countries in Vietnam and many former Vietnamese ambassadors abroad. The presentation focused on information about the organizational mechanism in the European Union and its importance; the history of the relationship between Vietnam and EU members; the cooperation between Vietnam and the EU through many programs and projects that the two sides coordinate; the challenges that Vietnam is facing in this relationship; the immediate cooperation priorities of the EU; the prospects for cooperation between the two sides in the future... The European Commission and Vietnam established diplomatic relations in 1990. Before that, many European countries had traditional relations with Vietnam since 1969 such as Central European countries, Finland, Sweden. Currently, 20 out of 27 member countries have embassies in Hanoi. The EU is currently one of the three largest donors to Vietnam with about 1 billion euros per year for many areas: supporting industry development, supporting innovation in education management; supporting health sector capacity; supporting education sector budget; supporting tourism human resource development; supporting multilateral trade policy... Many large projects and programs that the EU is implementing that Vietnam is benefiting from are: NGO Program, EIDHR Program, Asia Invest, Asia Link, SWITCH Asia, DIPECHO... In the future, the EU wants to support Vietnam in implementing projects on: higher education, justice partnership program, supporting health sector policy, improving the lives of ethnic minorities, building capacity for environmentally and socially responsible tourism.
The presentation attracted the attention of the audience. Many comments and information exchanges were sent to the Ambassador, revolving around the prospects of Vietnam - EU relations and related to issues of current public concern such as: how the Greek financial debt crisis will affect the European financial system and Vietnam; the future value of the EU and its impact on the two-way trade relationship between Vietnam and the EU; the attitude of the European Commission in the case of anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese leather shoes; the prospect of signing a new Vietnam - EU framework agreement; the EU's assessment of Vietnam's role in Asia; the EU's policies and mechanisms to narrow the gap between rich and poor and promote equal development among member countries...
