HANOI, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Barroso, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Nov. 25-27 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, local newspaper People reported on Wednesday.

    Vietnam has mapped out action plans to strengthen cooperation with the European Union (EU) in all fields, Dung said on Nov. 15 when receiving Sean Doyle, head of the EC delegation to Vietnam, noting that Vietnam regards the EU as an important partner.

    The upcoming visit is expected to boost multi-faceted cooperation between the EU and Vietnam, especially in energy and environment, Sean Doyle said.

    Jose Manuel Barroso was elected Prime Minister of Portugal in April 2002. He remained in office until July 2004 when he became President-designate of the EC, the executive arm of the EU.