An e-commerce site will make debut soon for businesses of Vietnam and the EU to better exploit opportunities of export to each other’s market after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect.

The launching ceremony of the cooperation program on March 26. Photo: moit.gov.vn

This is a cooperation program to support businesses exploiting EVFTA through an e-commerce platform jointly launched by the Vietnam Institute of Digital Economy and Management Science (VIDEM) and the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Kim Nam Group.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the cooperation program on March 26 in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung emphasized: "The cooperation program is expected to be the first step in the roadmap to support small and medium enterprises and business households, helping them improve capacity and increase opportunities to access international markets."

The e-commerce site is hoped to provide the Vietnamese business community with essential information as well as international partners about agreements and policies related to international trade activities.

"The implementation of the e-commerce site will contribute to building a complete digital ecosystem through digital solutions to help businesses conveniently connect and do transactions on a single platform (digital payment, logistics, e-invoice, digital signature)," Nguyen Kim Hung, Director of the VIDEM said.

The site aims to build a national database on capacity profiles, and provide transparent information about the origin of Vietnamese enterprises' products and services.

In the first two months of 2021, Vietnam exported US$13.8 billion worth of goods to the EU, up 33.5% against the same period of 2020. Its imports to the EU was estimated at more than US$2.2 billion, up 2.3% compared to the same period of last year.

Vietnam's main exports to the EU are telephone sets, electronic products, footwear, textiles and clothing, coffee, rice, seafood, and furniture.

Its key imports from the EU are high tech products, including electrical machinery and equipment, aircraft, vehicles, and pharmaceutical products.