1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:19,420 And we'll see you in about five minutes. 2 00:00:19,420 --> 00:00:43,220 Len is a very busy woman. 3 00:00:43,220 --> 00:00:47,620 As director of Craftlink, the biggest fair trade cooperative in Hanoi, she manages about 4 00:00:47,620 --> 00:00:49,380 twenty people. 5 00:00:49,380 --> 00:00:53,740 Business is going well, sales are increasing, and thanks to Craftlink, over five thousand 6 00:00:53,740 --> 00:00:58,260 Vietnamese craftspeople are finding markets, particularly in Europe. 7 00:00:58,260 --> 00:01:01,700 We create something with two purpose. 8 00:01:01,700 --> 00:01:09,220 The first is to help revive the traditional culture of different ethnic groups in Vietnam. 9 00:01:09,220 --> 00:01:13,580 And the second purpose is to help them earn more income through the handicraft production. 10 00:01:13,580 --> 00:01:17,740 That's our two goals. 11 00:01:17,740 --> 00:01:21,980 Today, Craftlink's turnover is close to a million euros. 12 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:26,860 Exports keep growing, mainly to Europe. 13 00:01:26,860 --> 00:01:33,900 In Europe, our biggest market is Italy and other countries in Europe as well. 14 00:01:33,900 --> 00:01:39,940 In recent three years, we focus on European market. 15 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:44,100 The products sold by Craftlink can be found literally everywhere in Europe. 16 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:49,400 Here in the Italian town of Bra, a few miles outside Turin, the Libero Mondo organization 17 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,300 has set up its warehouses. 18 00:01:51,300 --> 00:02:09,500 It has many shops in Italy which sell Craftlink's products. 19 00:02:09,500 --> 00:02:11,300 Luca works for Libero Mondo. 20 00:02:11,300 --> 00:02:18,460 Tomorrow he's flying to Vietnam, where he'll be meeting Lan and visiting producers. 21 00:02:18,460 --> 00:02:22,860 We undertake these journeys in order to better know our partners and their producers, in 22 00:02:22,860 --> 00:02:27,860 order to understand their structure better, to know their activity, and also to support 23 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:32,860 them with the possible development of new products, of new markets, and through a better 24 00:02:32,860 --> 00:02:42,780 knowledge of their production, to achieve a better cooperation with their structure. 25 00:02:42,780 --> 00:02:45,740 Luca and Lan have got to know each other on the phone and by e-mail. 26 00:02:45,740 --> 00:02:56,900 Today, they are meeting and getting to know each other better. 27 00:02:56,900 --> 00:03:00,620 Lan has organized various visits throughout Vietnam. 28 00:03:00,620 --> 00:03:07,580 Next stop, three producers in the suburbs of Hanoi. 29 00:03:07,580 --> 00:03:11,460 These kids in difficulties learn the craft of stone carving. 30 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:17,940 Craftlink buys their products. 31 00:03:17,940 --> 00:03:23,140 Bamboo furniture is a successful export item for Craftlink, as well as ceramics from this 32 00:03:23,140 --> 00:03:25,420 producer. 33 00:03:25,420 --> 00:03:29,700 We have to offer products that are typically Vietnamese and combine our strong points with 34 00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:35,500 the demands of foreign consumers, so that we can offer an output that meets export demands 35 00:03:35,500 --> 00:03:39,220 well. 36 00:03:39,220 --> 00:03:47,100 You can see the workshop now, it just opened for almost six or seven months. 37 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:53,100 They built up the new workshop, so it's a sign to prove that they are successful and 38 00:03:53,100 --> 00:03:54,580 we are very happy with that. 39 00:03:54,580 --> 00:04:01,860 We help them to export many of their products to Europe at the moment. 40 00:04:01,860 --> 00:04:05,580 The quality of this producer's ceramics is the key to their success, particularly in 41 00:04:05,580 --> 00:04:10,500 Austria, where the Weltladen shops, which are similar to those of Liberomondo, do a 42 00:04:10,500 --> 00:04:16,340 lot of business with Craftlink, as well as other producers in Southeast Asia. 43 00:04:16,340 --> 00:04:24,420 From Thailand, we buy rice, then we buy from Vietnam different handicrafts, from the Philippines 44 00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:34,020 dried fruits and also handicrafts, then we buy from Laos rice and from Indonesia also 45 00:04:34,020 --> 00:04:39,540 handicrafts, five different countries with different producer groups. 46 00:04:39,540 --> 00:04:46,980 In this part of Asia, we cooperate with Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. 47 00:04:46,980 --> 00:04:52,100 The European Union isn't just Craftlink's main export market, it's also a key economic 48 00:04:52,180 --> 00:04:54,500 partner for the whole of Southeast Asia. 49 00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:58,980 Its importance has increased still more since enlargement, when ten new countries joined 50 00:04:58,980 --> 00:05:02,660 the Union, taking the number of members up to 25. 51 00:05:02,660 --> 00:05:05,620 These 25 countries now share their lives and their power. 52 00:05:22,100 --> 00:05:35,300 Eniko Landeburu, Director General for External Relations, explains. 53 00:05:35,300 --> 00:05:40,940 In the wake of enlargement, we now have 450 million citizens, with a fairly high standard 54 00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:48,220 of living in comparison to the rest of the world, with a first or second major economic 55 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:53,820 power in the world producing about 25% of the world's wealth. 56 00:05:53,820 --> 00:05:58,820 And Asia, which is a very dynamic group of countries, can build on its dynamism and have 57 00:05:58,820 --> 00:06:06,460 an altogether special economic, commercial and political relationship with Europe. 58 00:06:06,460 --> 00:06:13,220 The European reality means that Asia doesn't depend on one great power alone, on the USA, 59 00:06:13,220 --> 00:06:17,500 and that it can diversify its contacts and links in the world. 60 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:22,820 It also means that these countries can export, as indeed they do to this relatively wealthy 61 00:06:22,820 --> 00:06:32,140 market, goods and products which can be beneficial for economic growth and employment in Asia. 62 00:06:32,140 --> 00:06:36,500 The enlargement of the European Union in some cases frightens Europe's partners, but the 63 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:40,540 enlarged Europe represents enormous potential for Southeast Asia. 64 00:06:40,540 --> 00:06:45,900 And after a short period of adaptation, the European Union has become ASEAN's third most 65 00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:51,940 important trading partner. 66 00:06:51,940 --> 00:06:57,380 The Thai or Vietnamese entrepreneur, for example, who arrives in France to do business, can 67 00:06:57,380 --> 00:07:03,460 from there sell his or her product in nearly the whole of Europe, because there are no 68 00:07:03,460 --> 00:07:04,460 borders. 69 00:07:04,460 --> 00:07:08,340 There are no differential customs duties between the countries. 70 00:07:08,340 --> 00:07:14,540 And in 12 of these 25 countries, there is the same currency. 71 00:07:14,540 --> 00:07:19,020 So the entrepreneur is in a position to reach hundreds of millions of citizens by landing 72 00:07:19,020 --> 00:07:21,540 anywhere in Europe. 73 00:07:21,540 --> 00:07:24,340 That's the great revolution of economic Europe. 74 00:07:24,340 --> 00:07:28,460 We have eliminated borders. 75 00:07:28,460 --> 00:07:36,500 Back to Vietnam, the night train takes Lan and Lucan north, destination Sapa, where a 76 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:50,020 community made up of both the Hmong and Cao ethnic minorities is producing embroidery. 77 00:07:50,020 --> 00:07:54,100 Once again, Lucan has discussions with the craftspeople and checks the quality of their 78 00:07:54,100 --> 00:07:55,100 work. 79 00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:58,660 In the weeks to come, he will place an order with Craftlink, and he is also expecting to 80 00:07:58,660 --> 00:08:01,860 increase his imports from Vietnam. 81 00:08:01,860 --> 00:08:06,220 One example among many of the strength of trading relations between the European Union 82 00:08:06,220 --> 00:08:10,700 and Southeast Asia. 83 00:08:10,700 --> 00:08:15,140 Marcus Cornaro, head of the delegation of the European Commission to Vietnam. 84 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:20,700 Both of us share the appreciation of the richness of cultural diversity, very eager to engage 85 00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:27,220 in trade, and this irrespective of very different religious and linguistic backgrounds. 86 00:08:27,220 --> 00:08:32,500 And evidently the European Union has an interest to capitalize on that as Southeast Asia picks 87 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:35,780 up after the financial crisis. 88 00:08:35,780 --> 00:08:40,740 And we see that in many countries that indeed it has recovered very well. 89 00:08:40,740 --> 00:08:43,500 The European Union has common institutions. 90 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:47,980 It brings a common project to all its members, a project which is not limited to the economic 91 00:08:47,980 --> 00:08:48,980 sphere. 92 00:08:48,980 --> 00:08:54,220 It is also encouraging this process of integration in Southeast Asia by supporting ASEAN and 93 00:08:54,220 --> 00:08:59,800 ASEAN's regional forum, which should eventually play a major role in conflict resolution. 94 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:05,540 This approach, based on partnership and multilateralism, distinguishes the EU from other world powers. 95 00:09:06,300 --> 00:09:11,100 The EU, the largest provider of development aid in the world, works alongside developing 96 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:16,780 countries, requiring that development be placed at the center of the WTO's concerns. 97 00:09:16,780 --> 00:09:20,980 The European Commission has also defined a new strategy for reinforcing its relations 98 00:09:20,980 --> 00:09:22,220 with Southeast Asia. 99 00:09:22,220 --> 00:09:27,060 It is determined to look beyond the economy to improve collaboration in the struggle against 100 00:09:27,060 --> 00:09:32,460 terrorism and crime, the promotion of human rights, the management of migratory flows, 101 00:09:32,540 --> 00:09:37,460 as well as in the fields of science and the new technologies. 102 00:09:37,460 --> 00:09:41,860 We need to see one another increasingly as political partners, which is what we're trying 103 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:44,820 to do here. 104 00:09:44,820 --> 00:09:48,820 And there's another element of development which is very important. 105 00:09:48,820 --> 00:09:54,780 There is a lack of visibility, of knowledge, of Europeans in Southeast Asia and of people 106 00:09:54,780 --> 00:09:59,340 from Southeast Asia in Europe. 107 00:09:59,340 --> 00:10:01,540 So how can we succeed? 108 00:10:01,620 --> 00:10:04,580 Through information campaigns, student exchanges. 109 00:10:04,580 --> 00:10:07,580 This is what we want to promote in practical terms. 110 00:10:07,580 --> 00:10:13,540 More Asian students coming to Europe and, perhaps, more European students going to Asia. 111 00:10:13,540 --> 00:10:18,220 Because it's through personal links from citizen to citizen that connections are made and the 112 00:10:18,220 --> 00:10:22,660 foundations are laid for better dialogue and cooperation in the future. 113 00:10:31,540 --> 00:10:33,540 For more UN videos visit www.un.org