Vietnam: Press conference by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell concluding the official visit to Vietnam

Good morning,

I am concluding today my official visit to Vietnam.

I have been amazed by the resilience of the Vietnamese people. The growing rate of this country over the past years has been accompanied by the diplomatic efforts to create ties with many countries - from the United States, to Asia, to Europe.

Now Vietnam is not only an economic power but also a geopolitical player.

I was in Hanoi last Thursday for the funeral of General Secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong. I expressed my condolences to the people of Vietnam on the passing of the General Secretary, who contributed significantly to strengthening the position of Vietnam on the global stage and fostering a strong partnership with the European Union.

Yesterday I met with the President [Tô Lâm], the Deputy Prime Minister [Trần Lưu Quang], the Foreign Affairs Minister [Bùi Thanh Sơn], and the Chairman of the Party's Central committee's External Relations Commission [Lê Hoài Trung].

With all my interlocutors I stressed how important are European Union-Vietnam relations.

Vietnam is the country in Southeast Asia with whom the European Union has the largest number of agreements, including a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and a Free Trade Agreement.

Vietnam has become our first trading partner in South-East Asia. It is due to the entry into force of our Free Trade Agreement in 2020. And, since then, trade has increased by 36%.

I believe that now it is key to fully implement the Free Trade Agreement.

Vietnam is growing very quickly. I think it is important that, while growing so quicky, [it still] preserves nature and produces clean energy.

The European Union supports Vietnam's commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through our Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which is a way of cooperating with Vietnam in order to get this very ambitious goal. Now it is important to accelerate the process by identifying priority projects and regulatory reforms to implement this Just Energy Transition Partnership.

When we talk about environment, civil society plays an important role. We discussed about Human Rights, which is an integral part of the European Union - Vietnam relationship.

Last Saturday, I attended the ASEAN Regional Forum. I said clearly that in today's world of crises - many crises -, confrontations, and wars, Europe and ASEAN must stand together.

Vietnam and the Vietnamese people unfortunately know too well how war is.

In all the meetings I had with my interlocutors here in Hanoi, I discussed Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia has caused wide-spread suffering to Ukraine and its people. And I explained why the Ukrainian struggle is existential for us.

I am aware that Russia's aggression against Ukraine may seem far away from Vietnam, but the consequences of this war - which include high level of inflation, high level of energy prices, and food insecurity - are also affecting Vietnamese people.

Ukraine has been aggressed, and Russia has aggressed Ukraine. We cannot tolerate imposing the power of the strongest on a sovereign country. If we do not stop this unjustified war, Russia will encourage other countries to threaten or use force for territorial gains.

Vietnam is an influential actor, and I asked my interlocutors to influence Russia to stop this war.

We also discussed about the situation in the South China Sea. The rising tensions in the South China Sea are very much concerning - also for us.

For us Europeans, this region is not far away. We have a direct interest in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Almost 40% of our imports and more than 20% of our exports goes through the waters of this Sea.

We are encouraged by Vietnam's diplomatic activities and talks with regional actors such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

We want to increase cooperation and enhance Vietnam's capabilities for peace and security, working together in cyber security, maritime [security] and crisis management.

It is clear for us that Vietnam is a crucial partner for the European Union in implementing our Indo-Pacific Strategy.

We look forward to reinforce our partnership. I would like that my visit would be the starting point for launching the process to upgrade our relations at a higher level. And I can say that one of the most important deliverables of this mission has been the decision to start working, from today onwards, toward upgrading our relations.

Q&A

Q. You talk about elevating our ties. Could you elaborate further on the reason why there is tension? What should be done to realise it?

As I said, with Vietnam we have the largest number of agreements than with any other country in the region. Among them, a trade agreement, a cooperation agreement, a cooperation for the just energy transition (JETP) and many others. So, it is quite natural that when we see our economic relationship increasing so quickly, we want to recognise facts and to push for a stronger cooperation. There are different degrees of cooperation and partnership. And Vietnam today is at a level of partnership which does not correspond with the intensity of our relations, and the will to continue increasing them. So, I think that we have to start working immediately to elevate this partnership to the level of Comprehensive and Strategic. The work has to start, and the outcome will be ahead. But the political will is clear; our partnership has to reflect the intensity of our relations.

Q. Why is there slow progress on the Investment Protection Agreement (IPA)? What should we do in order to accelerate the process, especially from the side of European Union Member States?

You are right. There is a delay that has to be taken into consideration. I am pushing a lot on EU Member States to accelerate the ratification of this protection for their investments. It is in their interest - it is also in the interest of Vietnam, because the more secure the investors will be, they will be ready to invest more. More security, less risk, means more willingness to invest. But it is mainly an interest of the firms of the Member States, and I regret that none of them have ratified this agreement.

At the beginning we thought that it was an issue of Vietnam. No, it is an issue of the European Union - some European Union Member States. I will push them to ratify this agreement quicker, because it is in their own interest.

Q. Which specific influence do you want Vietnam to exert on Russia in terms of the war in Ukraine? Is there any specific initiative, programme, you will do to have Vietnam enhance its security, crisis management and cybersecurity?

I have been asking all my interlocutors to use their influence on Russia to stop this war. We know that Vietnam has a good relationship with Russia. President Putin was here some days ago. I asked them to use this influence to make Putin understand that this war has to reach an end. That there is no military solution. That he wanted to invade Ukraine believing that Ukraine would be surrendering in a couple of weeks. Two years later, Ukraine is still resisting. And they will continue resisting, but the country is being destroyed. This cannot continue. The only way of stopping it is through peace negotiations. So, I asked my Vietnamese interlocutors to send the message to Putin that he has to engage on negotiations in order to stop this war. I explained to them why we are supporting Ukraine, because as I said, for us Europeans, this war against Ukraine represents an existential threat to our security. Talking about security, we have a programme called Enhanced Security in and with Asia (ESIWA) to support Vietnam in developing capacities in maritime security, in cyber security - which is more and more important, look what is happening in some European Union Member States with the occasion of the Olympic Games - and to deal with crisis management. We have a dialogue on security and defence with Vietnam - [we] had a meeting last year, and we have another meeting soon to discuss our future initiative on the framework of this ESIWA programme.

Q. How do you evaluate Vietnam effort to combat the IUU fishings? What do you think about the possibility of removing the yellow card? What measures do you think Vietnam should take to further strengthen its efforts in this matter?

At the European Union, and also Vietnam, we need to secure sustainable fishing because we need healthy seas and prosperous costal communities - here in Vietnam and elsewhere in the world. These are objectives that I know my colleagues from Vietnam share. We have had an excellent cooperation with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, on many specific issues, such as the equipment of fishing vessels with tracking and identification devices. Now we need more effective enforcement of these measures in some provinces - because you know the capacity to implement the measures belongs to the provincial authorities of Vietnam. We expect progress. A report will be issued by the Vietnamese authorities in September. On the basis of this report, we will organise another mission to assess the situation. And I hope that this yellow card could be lifted.

Q. The European Union has already launched the Indo-Pacific strategy since September 2021. How the presence of the EU has increased since this strategy in the region? What is the plan of cooperation you would like to have with Vietnam in order to ensure peace and stability in this region?

Since we launched the Indo-Pacific strategy - which was a way of recognising the centrality of this part of the world, and the centrality of ASEAN, by the way, we have been engaging more at European Union level - at the Member States level. Our warships more and more cross these waters. Certainly, the European Union is not a military alliance, it is not a military power, but our Member States have an important capacity, on their side. We have created a coordinated maritime security procedure to join the efforts of all of our vessels, which are sailing these waters more and more.

We have been discussing and I hope I will be able to sign before the end of my term security agreements with Japan and [Republic of] Korea. We have been discussing that also with Australia and New Zealand, although they are not ready to be signed. And I have been present in all the ASEAN meetings, having a lot of contacts with our partners. What we see is clearly that our trade is increasing, our investments are increasing, and this requires a security dimension that has to be built through partnership - some Member States of the European Union, and from the Union itself with some countries of the Indo-Pacific area. In the case of Vietnam, I have already explained the list of agreements that we have, and we are developing, and our will to increase the level of our partnership. This is something that takes time, but it is an everyday work in which we are very much engaged.

I can add for example that we have a framework agreement with Vietnam to exchange the participation of your officers, participating in our military training missions. We have Vietnamese officers working with us in the Central African Republic. At the same time, we have some military missions here to support in training your officers on peacekeeping missions.

Q. The European elections results are out already and it is expected who will be your successor to your position as HR/VP. Would you expect a change in cooperation with Vietnam?

You know, I will still be in office at least for four months. So, to talk about my successor, it is not for tomorrow. It is for few months [ahead]. In the meantime, I will continue working for the cooperation between the European Union and ASEAN - and Vietnam in particular. My visit shows the importance and the interest that we, today with me and tomorrow with my successor, are bringing and giving to this part of the world - and in particular to Vietnam. I am sure that the new leadership, when they will come, by the end of the year, will pay the same attention - even more - to this part of the world. In Europe we are fully convinced that the history of mankind in the 21^st century will be written in this region.

Q. In your meetings, and in the press point after your meeting with our leaders, you noted that Vietnam has a very balanced foreign policy. In the case of Ukraine, do you think Ukraine has a balanced foreign policy with the world, like Vietnam has?

You cannot compare the situation of Vietnam, which is a country that lives in peace and prosperity, and has strong ties historically with Russia, for example. And at the same time trades a lot with the Western world, particularly the European Union. Vietnam has a wide range of relationships, using the fact that [it is in] peace, and is exporting a lot and having a lot of trade relationships. This is not the case in Ukraine, unhappily. Ukraine is at war. It is being invaded, being destroyed by every day bombing by the Russian forces. It cannot export, because Russia is blockading its ports with their navy. And it depends strongly on the support of others, in particular the European Union, the United States and many other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom. Certainly, they cannot do the same kind of foreign policy. But Ukraine is trying to gather people around the world to hold peace conferences. Like the one that they managed to organise in Switzerland some weeks ago, where more than 90 countries attended. Another will take place soon - I hope. Ukraine is trying to explain to the rest of the world what is happening there and why it is resisting an aggression. You cannot compare the situation of Ukraine with Vietnam.

Q. I have two questions: is the EU considering any sanctions against the Venezuelan regime? In case you can verify that the vote was not regular and not fair as the first indications show. Second, are you concerned about the recent massive escalation in the Middle East, with Israel bombing Beirut to kill and Hezbollah commander? Just this morning, they killed a Hamas leader in Teheran. [starting at 27:25]

[Starting at 47:54] I am here in Vietnam taking much care of our bilateral relations. And I want to thank the Vietnamese authorities for their warm welcome and all the opportunities I had to discuss with them. From the President to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Party, the Foreign Affairs [ Minister]. But at the same time, we have to have a look at what is happening in the rest of the world and many things [are] happening. In particular, in Venezuela, [of] which I have been following closely the situation with great concern since last Sunday's Presidential elections. I issued a couple of statements - the last one yesterday - remarking that the National Electoral Council of Venezuela has only presented results for 80% of the vote; they did not finish to 100%. They only announced results for 80% of the vote. And without providing any source or system that could allow the verification of these results. And with this partial and not verifiable result, they proceed to declare Nicolas Maduro the winner of the election. But we reiterated that transparency and integrity of the electoral process have to be ensured. These require an independent verification of the official voting records of all polling stations. We asked to provide immediate access to the voting records of these polling stations. And until the records are made public and verified, the election results - that have already been declared - cannot be recognised. We cannot recognise results that have been, first, announced without any possibility of verification. And secondly, that there is only 80% of the vote. For us, it is important to remark that, as far as there is no full verification of the results, the results cannot be recognised. And these records of the electoral results should have been provided immediately after the counting. Because these records are being produced immediately after scrutiny. We do not understand why do they need several days in order to make the records verifiable. They should have been provided immediately as in any democratic electoral process. It is important, on the other hand, that the demonstrations and protests that are taking place in the country be peaceful. The security forces must ensure full respect for demonstrators, in particular [for] the right to protest and the right to freedom of assembly. There have been also arbitrary detentions of some opposition leaders. We are following closely the situation, and the [EU] Member States will take decisions once the CNE - the Central Electoral Commission - responds to our request.

Allow me to add that the opposition has made available to the public - published in a web page which is publicly available - a set of data coming from these electoral records that offer a completely different result from the one announced by the Venezuelan authorities. That is an additional reason for not recognising the results until they will be fully and independently verified.

On the situation in the Middle East, certainly, having also followed the events - the last one came just one minute ago - I have to wait to have more information before doing any comment. But before that, there has been an escalation at the Lebanon border and the war in Gaza continues. I've been talking with the Foreign Minister of Lebanon Bou Habib while I was still in Laos. And I can only say that we have to ask for ways to de-escalate tensions and avoid the war, which would have an impact on the whole region and beyond. And we need a ceasefire in Gaza, now. We need a ceasefire that could allow humanitarian access, freedom of hostages, and work towards a two-state solution for a sustainable and lasting peace. The last events show that it is the only possible solution if we want sustainable peace in the whole region.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-259846

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