The visit comes just days after Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Trade ties between Vietnam and Europe have deepened in recent years. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect in August 2020, substantially expanded Vietnam's commercial ties with most European states.
Amid global tariff wars, the EU-Vietnam relationship "is a welcome advertisement for keeping markets open," Khac Giang Nguyen, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told DW.