EUROCHAM EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS MEETING WITH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER PHAM BINH MINH​

On Friday, 3 March 2017 the executive board members and chairmen of various Sector Committees of EuroCham were received by the Deputy Prime Minister, Pham Binh Minh. During the meeting, the representatives of EuroCham reaffirmed their commitment to supporting and promoting European businesses in Vietnam. The publication of the Whitebook is one of  EuroCham’s key activities in implementing this commitment. This publication reflects the objective of the European business community to support the Government of Vietnam in improving its legal framework and enhancing the business environment in Vietnam, bringing benefits to businesses, investors  and Vietnamese society in general.

A major milestone in the development of relations between Vietnam and the EU is the signature of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, which will come into effect in 2018.

Nicolas Audier attended this meeting as an executive board member of EuroCham. Indeed, he has been acting as a special trade advisor in Vietnam for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1999. He is actively involved in the preparation of the Whitebook and he is also a member of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam. He is frequently appointed as a foreign expert in Vietnam to advise on the drafting of laws and regulations. Nicolas Audier presented the Deputy Prime Minister with some of the key recommendations of the 2017 Whitebook on Public-Private Partnership. He took the opportunity to raise some concerns  related to the poor record of the Vietnamese courts on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and also mentioned the lack of clarity concerning investors’ rights to mortgage land use rights, and the lack of clear  provisions on the State’s guarantee to balance foreign currency requirements.