EU and Vietnam upgrade ties to highest level as European Council president visits Hanoi

Описание: (29 Jan 2026)

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4633887

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
AGENCY POOL
Hanoi, Vietnam - 29 January 2026
1. European Council President Antonio Costa and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong posing for photos, shaking hands

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hanoi, Vietnam - 29 January 2026
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Costa, European Council President: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT3-4++
"We are elevating our relationship to the highest level, a comprehensive and strategic partnership. This upgrade fully captures the depth and breadth of our collaboration to date and our expectations for its future evolution on trade, on green and digital transition, on security, on people to people ties. This decision reflects not only how far we have come, but how closely our future is now linked."

AGENCY POOL
Hanoi, Vietnam - 29 January 2026
3. Various of meeting

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hanoi, Vietnam - 29 January 2026
4. Various of meeting
STORYLINE:
The European Union and Vietnam upgraded ties to the highest level on Thursday during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President Antonio Costa.

The EU-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership was announced after a meeting by Costa and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong at the Presidential Palace.

“For 35 years, our partnership has grown in depth and ambition. And today, we reach a significant new milestone, we are elevating our relationship to the highest level, a comprehensive and strategic partnership,” Costa said during a news conference following the meeting.

Costa said the upgrade reflects the expanding scope of cooperation between the two sides, including trade, green and digital transitions, security cooperation and people-to-people ties.

“This upgrade fully captures the depth and breadth of our collaboration to date and our expectations for its future evolution,” he said, adding that it recognizes a partnership that has become “resilient, dynamic and increasingly strategic.”

Vietnam is a key economic partner for the EU in Southeast Asia, with bilateral trade growing steadily since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2020.

The EU is also a major investor in Vietnam and has expanded cooperation in areas such as climate action, supply chain resilience and digital development.

Costa underscored the broader regional and geopolitical significance of the move, noting that it is the EU’s first comprehensive strategic partnership in Southeast Asia.

“It underlines the importance we attach to the region and to Vietnam’s growing role within it,” he said. “It also reflects our determination to be a credible long term partner in the Indo-Pacific.”

AP Video shot by Hau Dinh

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...