Hanoi (VNA) – Representatives of Austrian agencies and localities have affirmed that Vietnam is among Austria's top important partners in Asia during their working sessions with a delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).
During its working trip to Austria from June 2-6, the CPV delegation led by Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac, had meetings with Second President of the Austrian National Council Peter Haubner; Deputy Chief Justice of the Austrian Supreme Court Eva Marek; Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Austrian National Council Petra Mayr; Head of the Austrian Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption Lukas Berghammer; Salzburg State Governor Wilfried Haslauer; Dean of the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Academy Slagjana Taseva; and Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Philipp Agathonos.
At the meetings, Trac, who is permanent deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena, and permanent deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, and the Austrian side focused on discussing the situation in each country, the CPV, bilateral relations, and international and regional issues of mutual concern.
The two sides also had in-depth discussions on experiences, guidelines, policies, and measures in the fields of anti-corruption, judicial reform, and law-making; exchanged experiences in organising the court system, prosecution agencies, and experiences in trying various types of cases, including corruption cases; and proposed major directions to promote Vietnam-Austria cooperation.
The Austrian side welcomed and highly appreciated the delegation’s visit, affirming that Austria highly values its traditional friendship with Vietnam and considers Vietnam one of Austria's leading important partners in Asia.
Second President of the Austrian National Council Peter Haubner emphasised that the Vietnam- Austria relationship has been built and nurtured over the past 50 years, with Austria being one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1972. He recognised Vietnam as a model of success in socio-economic development, and highly appreciated Vietnam's foreign policy.
He noted that the bilateral trade turnover of 2.45 billion USD in 2024 is still very modest, not commensurate with the potential and desires of both sides.
The Austrian side expressed its desire to further deepen relations with Vietnam, especially strengthening political trust through high-level delegation exchanges; striving to double the number of Austrian enterprises investing in Vietnam from the current 50 to 100, and increase bilateral trade turnover to 4 billion USD in the coming years.
Austria also looks for further cooperation with Vietnam in areas where both sides have strengths such as science and technology, cyber security, justice, tourism, culture, and arts; and wants to promote cooperation in the fields of education and training, including nursing training.
The Austrian side thanked Vietnam for its close coordination at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the ASEAN - EU Strategic Partnership framework.
For his part, Trac affirmed that Vietnam and Austria have a good friendship and multifaceted cooperation relationship.
He expressed his gratitude for the support that the Austrian people have given to Vietnam in the past resistance wars and the curent process of national construction and protection.
The official said the bilateral cooperation has recorded positive and effective development steps in different fields. The exchange of delegations and meetings at all levels have taken place regularly. Two-way trade has also increased significantly, making Austria one of the 10 largest partners of Vietnam in the European Union (EU) and Vietnam one of Austria's most important partners in ASEAN.
Trac proposed Austria support and soon ratify the EU- Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and urge the EU to soon remove its yellow card against Vietnam's seafood exports, creating favourable conditions for Vietnam to export seafood to the EU.
He also called on Austria to continue paying attention and creating more favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Austria so that they can integrate more deeply into the host society, maintain the national cultural identity and Vietnamese language, and contribute to promoting the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
During their stay in Austria, the CPV delegation met with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Austria./.
