National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) meets Czech Ambassador Vitezslav Grepl on March 22 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly Chairwoman NguyenThi Kim Ngan on March 22 received Ambassador of the Czech Republic to VietnamVitezslav Grepl, who considered parliamentary ties critical to the twocountries’ friendship and cooperation.
Highlighting the countries’ strongerlong-standing friendship and all-faceted cooperation, Chairwoman Ngan saidVietnam attaches importance to developing relations with traditional friends inthe Central Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic.
She said thousands of Vietnamese people used tostudy in the country, and many of them are holding important positions in theState apparatus and the socio-economic life of Vietnam. She described them as apriceless asset of the two sides’ amity.
While bilateral trade is around 249 million USDat present, the Czech Republic ranks 45th among 116 countries and territoriesinvesting in Vietnam, she noted, expressing the hope that the ambassador willwork harder to help bring their economic, trade and investment ties on par withthe sound political and diplomatic links.
For his part, the Czech diplomat said about100,000 Vietnamese people are living in his country, making them the thirdlargest Vietnamese community in Europe, after France and Germany. They wererecognised as an ethnic minority group with certain contributions to the CzechRepublic.
The Czech Government has carried out a number ofprojects to help Vietnamese people integrate into the local society while stillkeeping their national identities, he added.
He pledged all-out efforts to strengthen the twosides’ connections in all aspects, including encouraging Czech investment in Vietnamand promoting tourism.
Chairwoman Ngan and Ambassador Grepl voicedtheir belief that along with regular visits and meetings, the upcoming visitsby the countries’ leaders in 2017 will help bring bilateral relations to a newheight.-VNA
VNA
