Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Kover Laszlo in Hanoi on October 20.
Welcoming the top Hungarian legislator and his delegation, PM Chinh noted that the visit comes as the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Hungary. It holds great significance in further strengthening ties between the two legislatures and deepening the Vietnam–Hungary Comprehensive Partnership, he emphasised.
Reaffirming Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, and multilateralisation of external ties, the PM said Vietnam always highly values and seeks to enhance relations with its traditional friends in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary - one of leading priority partners in the region.
Recalling his official visit to Hungary in January 2024, PM Chinh expressed his satisfaction with the positive progress in bilateral ties, describing Speaker Kover’s visit as an important new milestone in consolidating and expanding cooperation in the coming years.
He briefed the Hungarian guest on Vietnam’s recent socio-economic achievements, major strategic orientations, and ongoing reforms in growth models, institutions, and governance, highlighting Vietnam’s efforts to build an independent, self-reliant, and innovation-driven economy.
For his part, Speaker Kover expressed his delight at returning to Vietnam after a decade and thanked Vietnamese leaders and people for their warm, thoughtful hospitality. He conveyed President Sulyok Tamas’s greetings and invitation to Party General Secretary To Lam to visit Hungary, and commended Vietnam’s achievements during nearly 40 years of “Doi Moi” (Renewal) as well as its growing role and stature regionally and globally. He affirmed that Vietnam remains Hungary’s leading important partner in Southeast Asia.
Both sides agreed that economic, trade, and investment cooperation form a key pillar of their relationship and should be further strengthened to match their strong political trust.
PM Chinh appreciated Hungary’s early ratification of the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and asked Hungary to continue supporting the ratification process among remaining EU member states. Speaker Kover affirmed Hungary’s readiness to advocate for swift approval, stressing that this serves the common interests of EU nations, and reaffirmed Vietnam’s importance as the EU’s leading trading partner in Southeast Asia.
Also at the meeting, the two leaders discussed major directions to make bilateral cooperation more substantive. PM Chinh proposed several measures, including enhancing political trust through increased exchanges and high-level visits across all Party, State, Government, parliamentary, and people-to-people channels; doubling two-way trade to around 2 billion USD in the near future; effectively implementing projects using Hungary’s preferential credit; and boosting collaboration in education and training, particularly in Hungary’s strengths and Vietnam’s needs such as peaceful nuclear energy, high technology, medicine, and innovation.
He also called for closer cooperation in environmental protection, especially water security, labour, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchange, with a focus on joint activities marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.
Speaker Kover fully agreed with these proposals, affirming that all political parties in the Hungarian National Assembly, regardless of orientation, support strengthening ties with Vietnam.
He said the Hungarian parliament stands ready to coordinate the implementation of high-level agreements, assist both governments in expanding cooperation across all fields, particularly trade and investment, and work closely with the Vietnamese National Assembly to improve the legal framework for bilateral cooperation, thereby deepening the bilateral comprehensive partnership.
The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern, agreeing to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, and to uphold peaceful dispute settlement based on international law to ensure security and stability in each region. Regarding the East Sea, PM Chinh called on the Hungarian parliament to support Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance of resolving disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, PM Chinh asked Speaker Kover to convey his greetings to Hungarian PM Orban Viktor./.
