Senior Lieutenant General and Deputy Minister of National Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh said this at a reception for David O’Sullivan, the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service, in Hanoi on March 1.

Mr O’Sullivan briefed his host on the EU’s current situation and expressed his good impression on his return visit to Vietnam, adding that Vietnam is an important partner and bridge for the EU to boost cooperation with ASEAN.

The same day, Mr O’Sullivan visited the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and talked with Vietnamese postgraduates and students about the EU’s external policies.

The EU Chief Operating Officer is on a working visit to Vietnam from February 29 to March 2. During the visit, Mr O’Sullivan met National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, and Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, and conducted the first VN-EU political consultation at the deputy foreign ministerial level on February 29.

At these meetings, both sides affirmed the importance of strengthening Vietnam-EU relations and discussed international issues of common concern and measures to boost bilateral ties.

Vietnam praised the EU’s positive role and voiced its support for the EU to enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the Asia Pacific region for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region. The country spoke highly of the EU’s commitment to maintaining high-level ODA, despite having to cope with its public debt crisis.

Vietnam asked the EU to soon recognize its mechanism of market economy and grant the full Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in the 2013-2015 period.

The EU hailed Vietnam’s renewal achievements and its important role in the region, while expressing the wish to speed up cooperation with Vietnam for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Both sides highlighted the need to maintain a regular dialogue mechanism at the deputy foreign ministerial level to promote mutual understanding and comprehensive cooperation in the time to come.