Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Pham Thi Thu Huong paid a working visit to Patras on July 15 as part of efforts to strengthen Vietnam’s connections with Greek localities.
Patras, Greece’s third-largest city, is a major commercial and maritime transport hub and is considered the country’s “western gateway”.
During the visit, the ambassador held meetings with Patras Mayor Kostas Peletidis, the Achaia Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Greece.
At the Patras City Hall, Peletidis briefed the ambassador on the city’s more than 800 years of history and development. He expressed his hope that the visit will open up new opportunities for cooperation between Patras and Vietnam, particularly in culture, education and local-level exchanges.
Patras is ready to work with the Vietnamese Embassy to promote the country as well as its culture and people through local cultural events and festivals, including the Patras Carnival, one of Greece’s largest annual festivals, the mayor remarked.
Huong highlighted the achievements made by the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations 50 years ago, marked by all-level mutual visits, including the coming trip by the Greek Foreign Minister this July. She expressed a desire to translate this momentum into concrete cooperation projects with Patras in culture and education, both bilaterally and within the ASEAN–Patras framework, so as to advance relations in a substantive manner.
Potential initiatives include inviting Vietnamese artists to perform at cultural festivals in Patras, organising a Vietnam Day in the city, and promoting connections between ASEAN countries represented in Greece and Patras in the first half of 2027, she suggested.
During a meeting with the Achaia Chamber of Commerce, also known as the Chamber of Patras, the ambassador introduced Vietnam’s economic strengths and priority areas for cooperation and investment, including the green economy, innovation and high technology. She noted Vietnam’s fast-growing economy and strong performance in manufacturing, exports, technology and foreign investment attraction, and expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Greek and Patras-based businesses in the fields of their strength, particularly in maritime transport and trade.
The chamber’s leaders underlined the importance of seizing opportunities generated by Vietnam's vigorous growth, affirming the wish to strengthen links between businesses across the wider Patras region, including Achaia, Ilias and Aitoloakarnania, and Vietnamese partners.
The two sides agreed to pursue practical cooperation in maritime transport, labour, trade and the promotion of Vietnamese agricultural products. They also discussed measures for leveraging Patras’ port network to make the city a bridge connecting Vietnam with Greece and other European markets, including Italy and Spain.
During the trip, Huong also met Fotini Sarantidou Nguyen Bach Tuyet, head of the Vietnamese community's liaison board in Greece and daughter of Kostas Sarantidis – Nguyen Van Lap, a Greek hero of the Vietnam People’s Army.
The two sides looked into ways to mobilise the strengths of the Vietnamese community in Europe to promote cultural exchanges with Greece and enhance its role in enhancing cooperation between Vietnam and Patras./.
