Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) welcomes Slovenian Ambassador Janez Premoze on February 22 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucwelcomed the new Ambassador of Slovenia, Janez Premoze at a reception onFebruary 22.
The PM noted that Vietnam-Slovenia relations have madeprogress in recent years, particularly in the fields of diplomacy-politics and trade.The two countries supported each other’s candidacy to some United Nationsagencies, and bilateral trade grew 30 percent year on year in 2016.
PM Phuc said he hopes the Ambassador will work to raise bilateraltrade value by three or four times during his tenure.
He called on Slovenian investors to do business in Vietnam,stressing that Vietnam will create the best possible environment for investors.
“We are willing to help and serve as a bridge for Sloveniato increase cooperation with ASEAN which is a large market with 600 millionpeople,” PM Phuc said.
He urged the new Ambassador to persuade the SlovenianGovernment to provide ODA to Vietnam’s poor areas as well as to push for the signingof the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EV FTA). The PM believed the EV FTA willcreate a framework for more comprehensive and long-term cooperation betweenVietnam and the EU, and between Vietnam and Slovenia.
Ambassador Janez Premoze affirmed that Slovenia alwaysconsiders Vietnam an important partner, and will work for the signing of the EVFTA, thus boosting the trade ties between the EU and Slovenia and Vietnam.
He said he is working to organise a session of the Slovenia-Vietnamjoint committee on economic cooperation within this year.
The ambassador pledged to promote Vietnam to the Slovenian businesscommunity, adding that the two countries also have opportunities to boostpeople-to-people and scientific exchanges.-VNA
