Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam values and looks to strengthenfriendship and cooperation with Austria, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui ThanhSon told his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg during their talks in Hanoi on April17.
Schallenberg, who is on Vietnam visit from April 16-18 at theinvitation of Son, hailed Vietnam’s increasingly important role andposition in the region and the world. He affirmed that Austria expects toreinforce ties with Vietnam, its top partner in Southeast Asia.
The two ministers expressed theirdelight at the development of bilateral ties over the pastfive decades, especially in politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, developmentcooperation and culture.
Agreeing that there remains room to beef up bilateral ties,they agreed to facilitate all-level visits, especially those at high level viathe Party, State and people-to-people exchange channels.
They vowed to step up cooperation between the two foreign ministriesand mutual support between the two countries at multilateral forums andinternational organisations such as the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meetingand the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework.
Minister Son lauded Austria for always being one of the top 10 tradepartners of Vietnam in Europe over the past years. Despite COVID-19, two-waytrade still hit 2.79 billion USD lastyear.
At the talks (Photo: VNA) He suggested that both sides should workclosely together, fully and effectively tap the benefits of the Europe-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA). He also encouraged Austrian businesses toincrease investments in Vietnam, particularly in areas of their strength suchas infrastructure, renewable energy, new technology and semiconductorproduction.
Thehost proposed Austria soon complete the ratification of the EU-Vietnam InvestmentProtection Agreement (EVIPA) and push forward the European Commission (EC)’searly removal of yellow card warning on Vietnam’s aquatic products.
HailingVietnam as a vibrant economy in Southeast Asia, Schallenbergwished for enhanced bilateral collaboration in green technology, transportation,health care and infrastructure.
Healso took note of Son’s proposal regarding the early approval of theEVIPA by the Austrian Parliament and support for EC’s early lifting of theyellow card warning on seafood exports from Vietnam.
Hostand guest discussed expanding joint cooperation in new areas like nationaldefence-security, labour, and vocational training.
On the occasion, Son thanked the Austrian Governmentfor creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to settle down in the European country.
TheAustrian minister promised to continue assisting the Vietnamese community in upholdingtheir role as a bridge for developing the friendship and cooperation betweenVietnam and Austria in the most effective manner.
On regionaland global issues of shared concern, they underlined the importance of ensuringsecurity, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, aswell as settling disputes through peaceful means in line with internationallaw, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS)./.
