Tallinn (VNA) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with his Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal in the capital of Tallinn on June 6 morning (local time) within the framework of his official visit to Estonia.
PM Michal emphasised that PM Chinh's visit was a historic trip as this was the first time a high-ranking Vietnamese leader has visited Estonia since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1992, considering this a new impetus for the two sides to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation in many other areas where both sides have strengths and needs.
PM Chinh expressed his joy to visit Estonia, a model of breakthroughs, startups, digital government, and digital citizens in Europe and thanked the Estonian side for giving him personally and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam a warm and respectful welcome.
He conveyed the greetings from Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to PM Michal and senior Estonian leaders, affirming that Vietnam always remembers Estonia's support and assistance for the past struggle for national liberation and in the current process of national construction and development.
In the context of profound changes in the world and region, as the two countries share similarities in history and culture, strengthening and renewing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Estonia is extremely important, for the benefit of the people of each country, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
At the talks, the two PMs briefed each other’s about development achievements of each country in recent times. PM Chinh emphasised that in the process of national construction and development, Vietnam has focused on strongly implementing strategic breakthroughs in institutions, infrastructure and human resources, in which the development of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation are identified as the most important breakthroughs to help the country achieve groundbreaking development and prosperity in the new era.
Impressed by the remarkable progress that has made Estonia one of the leading countries in digital transformation and e-government, the Vietnamese leader suggested the Estonian side strengthen cooperation, exchange information, share valuable lessons on digital transformation, digital economy, building e-government, developing digital infrastructure, building Vietnam's big data centre, and training high-quality human resources, thereby contributing to better serving the Vietnamese people and promoting sustainable socio-economic development.
PM Michal highly appreciated the achievements in socio-economic development and improvement of people's lives in all aspects that Vietnam has achieved in recent times, in which the Southeast Asian nation has made great strides in e-government and digital transformation.
Agreeing with PM Chinh’s proposals, PM Michal affirmed that Estonia wants to strengthen cooperation in all fields with Vietnam, is ready to stand side by side with Vietnam in the process of digital transformation, innovation and enhance cooperation in science - technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, education and training.
The two leaders affirmed that the two countries need to support and assist each other to develop together, thereby further tightening the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation. Accordingly, in terms of politics, the two sides affirmed that they will continue to promote and exchange delegations at all levels to consolidate the political foundation and mutual understanding as well as expand cooperation in many other fields. Regarding economy, trade and investment, the two PMs also agreed that both sides would create favourable conditions for enterprises from both countries to invest and do business in the two countries.
PM Chinh expressed his hope that Estonia would act as an effective bridge to help Vietnam's exports gain deeper access to the Nordic and European Union (EU) markets. The two sides agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges, especially tourism and culture, through organising promotion events and participating in activities held in each country.
PM Chinh proposed Estonia to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working in the European country to continue contributing to the socio-economic development of the host nation and to serve as a bridge between the two peoples.
The two leaders had an in-depth discussion on the world and regional situation, including the world economic situation, and affirmed their support for free trade and the need to reform multilateral institutions in a more effective direction. The two sides agreed to closely coordinate, consult and support each other on international and regional issues, at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU).
Discussing regional security issues, the two sides agreed on the need for international solidarity and respect for law and fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter. PM Chinh said that Vietnam is ready to join the international community in peacekeeping efforts.
Regarding maritime and ocean issues, including the East Sea, the two sides affirmed their support for freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of respecting the interests of coastal states in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), peacefully resolving disputes on the basis of international law, not using or threatening to use force.
On this occasion, PM Chinh invited Estonia to send a high-level delegation to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime to be held in Hanoi in October 2025, which will be hosted by Vietnam. He also invited PM Michal to visit Vietnam soon and assigned the two countries' foreign ministries to arrange the visit. PM Michal happily accepted the invitation.
At the end of the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing and exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in digital transformation and digital economy between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Estonian Ministry of Justice and Digital Transformation.
The two agreements demonstrate a strong commitment to political-diplomatic and scientific-technological cooperation and innovation. The two PMs agreed to assign relevant agencies to directly discuss and send expert delegations to specifically implement the agreements.
After that, the two PMs chaired a joint press conference to announce the results of their talks./.
