Prague (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Prague on January 18 afternoon (local time), beginning an official visit to the Czech Republic from November 18-20 at the invitation of his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala.
PM Chinh and his entourage were welcomed at Václav Havel Airport by Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jiri Kozak, Czech Ambassador to Vietnam Nam Hynek Kmonicek, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Duong Hoai Nam, staff of the Vietnamese embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the European country.
During the visit, the Vietnamese government leader is scheduled to hold talks and meetings with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, President Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Senate Milos Vystrcil, and receive leaders of the Czech Communist Party and the Czech Republic’s friendship organisation.
In addition, he will visit the Vietnamese embassy, meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic; attend the 2025 Xuan Que Huong (Homeland Spring) programme and extend New Year greetings to the Vietnamese community, visit outstanding Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic, work with outstanding Vietnamese businesses in the Czech Republic and Europe, visit the Sapa Trade Centre - where many Vietnamese people do business. He is also scheduled to receive leaders of leading Czech businesses and attend the Vietnam - Czech Business Forum.
Chinh's visit to the Czech Republic takes place in the context that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic has been growing over the past seven decades.
Vietnam always treasures the development of relations with traditional countries in the Central and Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic - a priority partner.
The Czech Republic views Vietnam as a key partner and a gateway connecting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with Europe, and as a priority in its strategy on cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region.
Two-way trade reached 2.9 billion USD in 2023, and was estimated at 3.8 billion USD last year, up 28% year-on-year. The Czech Republic is running 41 direct investment projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 92.39 million USD. The two sides still have significant potential and room to expand cooperation into such areas as green transformation, digital transformation, renewable energy, and mining.
This visit is of great significance. It aims to continue affirming Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, diversification, comprehensive international integration, contributing to deepening and elevating relations between the two countries to a new level of development./.
