The council will serve as a co-operation mechanism between the two organisations that will contribute to the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which came into effect from August 1.

The EVBC will strive to support businesses from both sides, enabling them to fully take advantage of the EVFTA, while simultaneously helping to boost co-operation in the fields of trade and investment between Vietnam and the EU.

The initiative received support from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and both Cecilia Malmstrom and Phil Hogan, the EU Commissioners for Trade.

Addressing the ceremony, VCCI vice president Hoang Quang Phong stated that the EVBC brings together the opinions of businesses and allows them to be presented to the government and functional agencies of the country and the EU.

Nicolas Audier, EuroCham chairman, confirmed that in the following decade the EVFTA will greatly boost co-operation in trade and investment between both sides.

The close and effective co-operation between EuroCham and the VCCI has opened a new chapter in the trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the EU, he noted.