Half a century of sustainable and comprehensive cooperation

Ambassador, in the 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, how has the Vietnam-Denmark cooperation progressed? If you could only choose one word to evaluate this relationship, what word would you choose?

Denmark is one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam (November 25, 1971). Denmark is also the first Nordic country with which Vietnam established the framework of the Comprehensive Partnership in 2013.

Looking back on the past 50 years, it can be seen that the relationship between the two countries has developed in a stable, positive, sustainable and comprehensive manner. The fields of extensive cooperation range from politics-diplomacy, economy-trade-investment, sustainable development, energy, climate, and environment to cooperation in research, education, culture, sports, etc. sports, travel.

About politics-diplomacyThe two sides have regularly exchanged high-level delegations over the years. These include the visits to Denmark by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (in 2018), President Truong Tan Sang (in 2013), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (in 2009), and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (1999). , National Assembly Chairman Nong Duc Manh (1998), Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (1995) and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong (1977).

On the Danish side, Queen Magrethe II (2009) and Crown Prince Frederik (2011), Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt (2012), Speaker of the National Assembly Mogens Lykketoft (2012) and Erling Olsen (1995) all visited Vietnam. Male. This shows the high political trust between the two countries.

Regarding economic and trade cooperation, Bilateral trade turnover between the two countries in recent years has increased sharply, even in 2020 despite many negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, it also reached nearly 500 million USD.

Vietnam has also approached and exported strong products such as textiles, footwear, and handicrafts to the Danish market. Leading corporations in Denmark as well as in the world such as Vestas, Orsted (wind power, renewable energy), Lego (toys) have all committed to major investment projects, even some projects. projects with a total investment of over 1 billion USD in Vietnam in the coming time.

Cooperation between the two countries at multilateral forums and international organizations such as the United Nations and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is also very active as the two countries regularly support each other. Vietnam is also a core member, actively participating in the High-Level Cooperation Forum for Global Green Goals to 2030 (P4G) founded by Denmark.

In many other fields such as agriculture, labor… the two sides have complementary strengths and advantages, so the potential is still great.

If I were to choose one word to evaluate the relationship between Vietnam and Denmark, I believe that the relationship between the two countries has developed “sustainably” in recent years.

In a special year like this one, what meaningful events and activities have the two countries organized to celebrate the half-century relationship?

Vietnam and Denmark celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in the context that the Covid-19 pandemic is still complicated and the global economy is in the process of recovering and adapting to the new context.

With the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the help of Vietnamese agencies, the Embassy has implemented a plan to organize the anniversary with practical, feasible, economical and effective activities. Although many pre-planned activities of both Vietnam and Denmark were affected, the two sides still maintained the exchange of congratulatory messages between the senior leaders of the two countries.

On the occasion of Vietnam’s 76th National Day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Denmark jointly held a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Denmark. A large number of representatives of the Danish Government, businesses, circles as well as individuals who have made active contributions to the relationship between the two countries from the very beginning attended and reviewed the development of relations in the past 50 years. past year.

At the ceremony, the Embassy also organized a photo exhibition about the country and people of Vietnam to Danish friends. In addition, the Vietnamese Embassy in Denmark also cooperated with the newspaper Copenhagen Post, Denmark’s largest English-language newspaper, publishes a special supplement to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of relations. The Vietnam-Denmark Friendship Association also published an article in its magazine about the relationship between the two countries.

In particular, on this occasion, the Communist Party in Denmark (Communist Party in Denmark) translated and published the full text of the article. Some theoretical and practical issues about socialism and the way to socialism in Vietnam by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and published in the party’s magazine.

I hope in the coming time, when the two countries control the epidemic situation well, they will continue to have meaningful activities to celebrate this 50-year relationship.

In the context that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has come into effect and is being implemented relatively effectively, what advice does the Ambassador have for Vietnamese businesses to make better use of it? benefits from the agreement and better capture the Danish market?

In the midst of the spreading Covid-19 pandemic, challenging the sustainability of global value chains, while Vietnam’s economy is a link, the entry into force of the EVFTA opens a golden opportunity to promote promote the transformation of these value chains.

In terms of potential, market size, Denmark is a developed industrialized country, has a modern economy, with a high standard of living, but in terms of import and export turnover and the ability to consume goods, Denmark is really is “baby pepper”.

Although the population is only about 5.8 million people, according to the 2020 statistics, the Danish economy ranks 36 out of 196 in the world in terms of nominal GDP and per capita income.

The commodity structure of Vietnam and Denmark is highly complementary and reciprocal, so there is little direct competition. The provisions of the EVFTA Agreement show that up to 70% of goods will be taxed and the EU will eliminate import taxes for 99.7% of tariff lines. This is a great advantage for Vietnamese exports.

Particularly for vegetables, EVFTA stipulates to immediately remove 520/556 from the total tax lines of fruits and vegetables and fruit and vegetable products, 85.6% of product lines will be reduced to 0% for processed vegetables. This creates a significant advantage over other countries exporting agricultural products to the EU, especially in the context that we are the only developing country with an FTA with the EU.

The Vietnamese community in Denmark has over 15,000 people and is growing, living in big cities with convenient transportation. Through contact and research, we see that people’s demand for Vietnamese goods, especially vegetables, fresh and dried foods, is not small.

Vietnamese cuisine is very popular with Danish friends. Many Vietnamese businesses here, such as Vietnamese restaurants, have an increasing demand for Vietnamese food to be able to produce authentic Vietnamese dishes. Vietnamese businesses should not take this need lightly.

Finally, understanding and penetrating the Danish market is always accompanied by the active support and companionship of Vietnamese agencies in the host country, namely the Embassy. Domestically, businesses need to work together to create higher competitiveness in terms of quantity and quality, and build a network of relationships in Europe. EVFTA is like a football match, in order to have a good football match, the players need to promote the collective spirit, practice good technique and physical strength.

Comprehensively, EVFTA is only a necessary condition, Vietnamese agricultural products must meet the remaining sufficient conditions to be able to effectively take advantage of the enormous potential that this agreement brings. In fact, in order to survive, businesses need to change, accept challenges to develop. The EVFTA playground is an opportunity, a new and valuable motivation for Vietnamese businesses to rise.

In order to deepen and broaden the relationship between the two countries, which areas should Vietnam and Denmark focus on in the coming time?

In order to continue to expand and deepen the two countries’ relations, first of all, the two sides need to maintain the momentum of development and the positive results that have been achieved in the current key areas of cooperation such as politics and politics. political-diplomatic, economic-trade-investment, as well as take advantage of the benefits that EVFTA brings in the coming time.

Besides, as mentioned above, Vietnam and Denmark have complementary strengths in many fields, with much potential and room for development.

Areas where Vietnam and Denmark can focus more on cooperation in the future such as agriculture-food, science-technology, digital transformation, renewable energy, environment and green and sustainable development steady.

Thank you Ambassador!