Vietnam and EU Elevate Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Vietnam and the European Union have upgraded their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, marking Vietnam’s highest diplomatic designation for the EU. The announcement came on January 29, 2026, during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President Antonio Costa, placing the EU on the same strategic level as the United States, China, and Russia in Vietnam’s foreign policy framework.

President Luong Cuong described the move as a “historic milestone” that strengthens cooperation in an increasingly uncertain global environment. Costa emphasized the importance of reliable partnerships when the international rules-based order faces multiple challenges. “At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side by side as reliable and predictable partners,” he stated, highlighting shared prosperity as a core goal of the upgraded ties.

The elevation reflects both sides’ efforts to recalibrate trade and economic relations amid ongoing global disruptions, particularly US tariff policies under President Donald Trump that have pressured supply chains and export-dependent economies. Vietnam, a major manufacturing hub and beneficiary of trade diversion from China, has sought to diversify partnerships and reduce vulnerability to unilateral trade measures.

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The two sides already maintain a robust economic foundation through the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), signed in 2020 and fully in effect since 2021. The deal has significantly boosted bilateral trade, with the EU becoming one of Vietnam’s top export markets for electronics, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products. The strategic partnership is expected to deepen collaboration beyond commerce into areas such as security, climate action, digital economy, and sustainable development.

The timing of the upgrade underscores Vietnam’s pragmatic “bamboo diplomacy,” which balances relations with major powers while prioritizing economic resilience. For the EU, the move reinforces its Indo-Pacific strategy and commitment to engaging Southeast Asia as a counterweight to rising geopolitical tensions.

This development signals growing convergence between Hanoi and Brussels in navigating an era of trade fragmentation and protectionism, with both sides positioning the partnership as a stabilizing force in an unpredictable global landscape.

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