Vietnam Aims to Strengthen Traditional Bonds in All Areas with Czech Republic

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) welcomes Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 21st morning hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, who is on an official visit to Vietnam from April 20th to 22nd, as reported by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

The two Prime Ministers convened for talks following a warm welcome ceremony.

Appreciating the importance of the Czech Prime Minister’s visit to Vietnam, Chinh reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening ties with their traditional friends, with the Czech Republic being a primary partner.

Fiala expressed his great pleasure at visiting Vietnam for the first time, affirming that his country attaches great importance to its more-than-70-year friendship with Vietnam, consistently views Vietnam as its most important partner in Southeast Asia, and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields.

The two sides agreed to significantly enhance the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-ranking ones, maintain the effective implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and discuss a progressive collaboration framework to generate breakthroughs, and further intensify the traditional friendship between the two countries.

In terms of economy and trade, the leaders welcomed the impressive growth of bilateral trade turnover, which had reached an impressive USD 848 million in 2022. They agreed to strive for an even more ambitious target of reaching the USD 1 billion mark in the next 1-2 years by fully and effectively implementing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and enhancing the effectiveness of the joint committee mechanism on economic cooperation.

They will urge Czech businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in areas where the Czech Republic is a leader, such as automobile manufacturing, digital transformation, renewable energy, environmental protection, and infrastructure development.

PM Chinh urged the Czech Republic to leverage their influence with other European Union (EU) nations to swiftly ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with hi Czech counterpart Petr Fiala in Hanoi on April 21. Photo: VNA

PM Fiala stressed the enormous potential of Vietnam as an economic partner, noting that an increasing number of Czech businesses are looking to expand their investments and operations within the country.

Regarding the European Commission (EC)’s yellow card warning on Vietnam’s seafood exports, the Czech leader strongly emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation between the EU and Vietnam on sustainable fisheries development. He also expressed his support for the commission’s prompt removal of the yellow card.

The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in security-defense, culture, education-training, labor, science-technology, transport, and tourism; and contemplate the establishment of a cultural centre in each country and direct air routes to foster investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

The Vietnamese Government leader expressed their gratitude to the Czech Government for providing favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to reside stably and make positive contributions to the host country’s socio-economic development. In recognition of the Vietnamese community’s role in the Czech Republic, the Czech Prime Minister applauded the decision of the Czech government to deem them an ethnic minority in 2013.

The two Prime Ministers also discussed a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest, and reaffirmed that both nations will continue to collaborate closely and provide each other with mutual support in international forums and organizations.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they unequivocally reaffirmed their support for the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh introduced to Prime Minister Petr Fiala some pictures of the relationship between the two countries. Photo: VGP

Following the conversations, the two heads of state attended the signing of a number of agreements related to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, investment, and education.

Earlier, they visited a stunning photo exhibition showcasing the strong ties between the two countries in terms of politics, diplomacy, economy, and culture, organised by the Vietnam News Agency.

During a reception in Hanoi on April 21 for Prime Minister Fiala, President Vo Van Thuong suggested both sides work closely together to effectively implement the agreements reached during the visit, take full advantage of current potential and opportunities to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the coming period. To achieve this, they should facilitate the exchange of delegations at all levels, encourage economic-trade and investment cooperation, capitalize on the long-standing collaboration in education-training, and intensify tourism and people-to-people exchanges. During a reception in Hanoi on April 21 for Prime Minister Fiala, President Vo Van Thuong suggested both sides work closely together to carry out agreements reached during the visit, fully tap existing potential and opportunities to further enhance bilateral cooperation in the new period. This could be achieved through facilitating the exchange of delegations at all levels, promoting economic-trade and investment cooperation, leveraging the tradition of collaboration in education-training, and stepping up tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Agreeing with the President’s proposals, Fiala affirmed that the two governments will persistently strive to create advantageous conditions for the companies from both countries to extend their operations.

He suggested that collaboration in the realms of politics, diplomacy, economics, and trade, as well as people-to-people exchange, could be enhanced through the establishment of a direct air route between the two countries and the opening of a Czech cultural center in Vietnam.

At the Vietnam – Czech Business Forum organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vietnam and the Czech Chamber of Commerce (CCC) held in Hanoi on April 21.

The Vietnam-Czech Business Forum was held in Hanoi on the same day, organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vietnam and the Czech Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The event was attended by both Prime Ministers.

At the forum, the Prime Ministers of both nations were present to witness the signing of cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding for their respective businesses.

They included the Memorandum of Understanding between Armex Group and Petrovietnam Power Corporation concerning the promotion of collaboration, and the collaboration agreement between Czech F AIR and Vietjet Air regarding the training of commercial pilots.