Vietnam expects early signing of shipping agreement with Greece

During the discussions, the two ministers compared notes on the socio-economic situation of each respective country over recent times, as well as reviewing and discussing a range of measures aimed at stepping up co-operation across multiple potential fields of the two countries.

Both diplomats were delighted to see that after nearly half a century since the original establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975, through the determination of senior leaders, co-operation has been increasingly promoted and expanded to a multitude of fields, such as politics, diplomacy, national defence, economy, trade, and labour.

They came together to agree to intensify delegation exchanges at all levels, especially at high levels, closely co-ordinate and offer mutual support at multilateral and international forums, including the UN and other co-operation frameworks such as ASEAN-EU and ASEM.

Minister Son thanked the Greek side for donating 250,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines to help the nation overcome the difficult period caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also applauded Greece's donation of EUR50,000 to the Vietnam National Olympic Committee as a means of supporting the participation of Vietnamese athletes in the biggest sporting event on the planet.

The Foreign Minister highly appreciated Greece's swift ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and suggested that both sides seek to work closely together to exploit the opportunities from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). A focus should be on areas where the two sides boast strengths and development needs such as the marine economy, transportation and seaport exploitation, food processing, thereby creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products to penetrate Greek supermarket systems.

He also suggested that Greece lobby the EU for the early removal of the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) yellow card given to Vietnamese seafood products.

In response, FM Dendias applauded Vietnamese socio-economic development achievements over recent years, emphasising the increasingly important role of the country in the region and the wider world.

He also outlined his desire to bolster co-operation as part the policy of Greece towards the Asia-Pacific region.

The Greek FM proposed that the two sides maintain co-operation mechanisms, including political consultations between the two foreign ministries, while also affirming his support for sending Vietnamese workers to work in Greece and ramping up co-operation between the two countries’ localities.

He expressed his wish to place a monument of President Ho Chi Minh in Greece, as well as affirming that he will lobby EU countries for their early ratification of the EVIPA.

The two sides also spent time discussing and sharing views on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

With regard to the East Sea issue, Minister Dendias backed the Vietnamese position and emphasised the consistent stance of Greece and the EU on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation. This is in addition to settling disputes by peaceful means, and respecting international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

As part of this occasion, the two ministers also witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on co-operation in the field of diplomatic staff training between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Greek Diplomatic Academy.