Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Hans-Peter Glanzer said Austria was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam back in 1972.

Since then, relations have developed in an excellent way in various fields, be it political, economic or academic.

“Vietnam is our largest trading partner in the ASEAN region and Austria is between the fifth and seventh most important export market for Vietnam in Europe,” said the Ambassador. “That trend was further strengthened by the free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, which entered into force in 2020.”

Regarding Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong's upcoming visit to Austria, the diplomat said it is very good to see visits at a high political level, which are so important for fostering bilateral relations that have been resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The visit of President Vo Van Thuong to Austria is of great importance and significance because the visit will help further strengthen our bilateral relations. We are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation in the economic and educational fields,” he said.

The diplomat said he sees great potential for further deepening bilateral relations.

For example, in the economic field, there's definitely more room for Austrian investments in Vietnam.

“We also see quite a lot of potential for increased cooperation in the educational and academic field, for example, in the field of vocational training, or in the intensified cooperation between the two diplomatic academies, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, for example,” said the ambassador.

Regarding cooperation between Vietnam and Austria at multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, ASEM and ASEAN-EU, he said it is important and in the very own interest of our two countries that the two countries pursue active multilateralism both at a global and regional level, be it in the framework of the United Nations or regional ones like ASEAN-EU./.

VNA