Jessen, who is Head of the EU delegation to Vietnam, emphasised this at the May 31 launch of the “EU Blue Book 2012,” an annual publication on EU development in Vietnam.

He said the EU has committed aid totalling EUR 745.3 million (US$1 billion) in 2012, representing 13.24 percent of the total pledged by donors for the country. Of the amount, non-refundable aid accounts for 32.5 percent, or EUR245.21 million.

The diplomat said the Vietnam-EU relations have been expanded beyond development cooperation programmes.

He described the upcoming signing of the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) this year as a manifestation of the wide and unceasingly developing cooperation between the EU and Vietnam.

The two sides have also finished preparations for the start of negotiations on their bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), he said.

The EU has become Vietnam’s second biggest trade partner after the Southeast Asian country boosted its exports to the bloc by 33.5 percent in 2011, the Ambassador added.

In the face of the economic crisis in Europe and in the world in general, the EU’s remarkable committed assistance to Vietnam has reflected the importance of the Vietnam-EU relations, he said.

He said he hopes the EU’s non-refundable aid and loans to Vietnam will stimulate policy change and growth in target areas, such as public finance management and economic reform, private sector development, poverty reduction, administration, social affairs and technology.