Vietnam and the European Union pledged to deepen economic and security cooperation on Thursday, upgrading their diplomatic relationship to hedge against an increasingly unpredictable United States. Vietnam and the EU signed a free-trade deal in 2019, with bilateral exchange growing by around 40 percent since then. The two sides agreed on Thursday to deepen cooperation on trade, technology, energy and security, according to a joint statement. Faced with deepening trade uncertainty, Vietnam is on the hunt for new markets beyond top trading partners, the United States and China. "Vietnam wants to maintain an open international environment for trade, and the EU can help," he added.