EU's Antonio Costa meets Vietnam leaders to unveil strategic partnership

Vietnam and the European Union are expected to announce a comprehensive strategic partnership as European Council President Antonio Costa begins his official visit to the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday. 

The agreement, which would be the first for the EU in Asean, follows numerous such deals Vietnam has inked — including with the US, China, Russia, Japan, India, UK, France and Australia — as its global economic and security role grows. Vietnam has signed 17 trade pacts as it seeks double-digit expansion of its trade-reliant economy.  

An upgrade in relations between the EU and Vietnam to a comprehensive strategic partnership would “send a powerful signal in an unsettled world — that the EU and Vietnam are choosing long-term cooperation over short-term hedging,” Costa said in an editorial.  

The expanding ties comes as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have roiled global trade and strained long-held alliances, prompting governments to expand trade and diplomatic ties with more countries. 

“The geopolitical situation is quite critical,” Julien Guerrier, EU ambassador to Vietnam, told reporters in Hanoi Monday.

The push for upgraded relations “is a message to the world that we want to reinforce our partnerships with countries like India, like Vietnam,” he said. 

The EU is Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner, with two-way trade increasing 10 per cent -15 per cent annually to about $73.8 billion in 2025, according to Vietnam government data. The EU is among Vietnam’s top 10 foreign investors, with total FDI reaching about $30 billion. 

Economic ties between the two sides were boosted by the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 2020 and eliminated nearly 99 per cent of tariffs, according to a post on Vietnam’s government website. The agreement increased bilateral trade by about 40 per cent , Costa said.  

Vietnam and the EU have also established a Defence and Security Dialogue mechanism.  

Closer diplomatic ties “would provide a stronger platform to deepen cooperation in areas that matter most: green energy, advanced technologies, skills, and security,” Costa wrote.