Foreign Minister’s Czech Republic visit reaffirms stronger ties: Ambassador

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Thai Xuan Dung. (Photo: VNA)

Prague (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Thai Xuan Dung has stressed that Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son’s coming visit to the European country from June 8-10 will once again affirm the positive developments of bilateral relationship.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Prague, Dung said since the COVID-19 pandemic was brought under control, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic have been thriving in all fields. The Czech Republic is highly interested in promoting relations with the Indo-Pacific, including Vietnam and some other ASEAN countries.

He said the visit aims to continue effectively realising the outcomes of previous visits, during which both sides will discuss measures to enhance political and diplomatic relations, maintain high-level exchanges, support each other at multilateral and international forums, effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, national defence-security, sci-tech, education-training, culture, tourism, labour, and more.

They will also debate the implementation of commitments, agreements and accords that have been signed, especially promoting the signing of a new phase of the education agreement based on the signed Memorandum of Understanding on education cooperation, pushing the Czech Republic to relax visa regulations for Vietnam, progressing towards the signing of a labour cooperation agreement to facilitate labour and expert exchanges, and stepping up the establishment of cultural centres in both countries.

According to him, Vietnam and the Czech Republic are the two economies that can complement each other. With a population of 100 million, Vietnam has strengths in agriculture, aquaculture, garment, leather and footwear, wood products, electronics and consumer goods while the Czech Republic is one of the EU countries with advanced sci-tech background. Therefore, both sides could work together in the transfer of green and eco-friendly technologies in areas of Vietnam’s interest and the Czech Republic’s strengths.

With nearly 100,000 people, the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic also serves as a bridge promoting bilateral friendly cooperation, he said, adding that the signing of the Letter of Intent on education cooperation during Czech Prime Minister’s visit to Vietnam in April was an initial step to move toward the signing of a new Government-level agreement in the field, thus creating a favourable legal framework for the exchange of students, lecturers and trainees, as well as research collaboration and provision of scholarships for students from both countries.

Furthermore, Vietnam is a peaceful country with political and social stability, an attractive investment environment that increasingly integrates into the world, which catches the interest of investors worldwide, including those from the Czech Republic. Last year, two-way trade hit 2.34 billion USD.

The diplomat said he believes that with active efforts and long-standing friendship between the two countries, they will overcome challenges and seize opportunities to elevate bilateral relations and multifaceted cooperation to a greater height./.