Vietnam aspires to strengthen all-around cooperation with Slovenia
VOV.VN - Vietnam always places importance on and desires to boost all-around cooperation with Slovenia, one of its traditional friends in Central-Eastern Europe, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a reception in Hanoi on May 23 for Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon.
At the function, the Vietnamese Government leader hailed the outcomes of the talks between the Slovenian official and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, and her meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, as well as the Vietnam-Slovenia business in Ho Chi Minh City.
Chinh expressed his confidence that Fajon’s official visit to Vietnam from May 22-23 will contribute to strengthening the traditional friendship and fruitful cooperation between the two countries across multiple fields.
In response, Fajon expressed her impression with Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, and emphasized that her nation wishes to ram up its cooperation and traditional friendship with Vietnam, a leading important partner of Slovenia in the region.
PM Chinh showed his elation at the positive development of the bilateral ties over the past time, and suggested the two sides intensify the exchange of all-level delegations, especially in 2024 when they mark the 30th founding anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.
Despite COVID-19 impacts last year, the bilateral economic and trade cooperation still maintained its growth pace, with two-way trade value hitting a record of more than US$ 570 million, up 15% on-year, Chinh told his guest.
He suggested Slovenia further facilitate the access of Vietnamese products like electronics, garments-textiles, farm produce and aquatic products to the Slovenian and EU markets.
The Vietnamese cabinet leader took the occasion to call on Slovenia to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood.
Fajon affirmed that with the sound traditional friendship as the foundation, Slovenia wishes to deepen its relations with Vietnam in different fields, stressing that the Slovenian government greatly values Vietnam’s advantages in terms of market, workforce and business environment, as well as the fact that both nations support free trade.
Slovenian firms are interested in and wish for result-oriented cooperation with Vietnam, as reflected through the large number of Slovenian companies that have come to the Southeast Asian nation on this occasion to seek cooperation, investment opportunities, she went on to say.
The host and guest shared the view that both nations need to step up cooperation at multilateral and regional forums, and work together in response to global challenges like climate change, and energy and food crises.
Regarding the East Sea issue, they underscored the importance of ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and settling disputes by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
PM Chinh also called for Slovenia’s further support for the Vietnamese community in the country as a contribution to the long-standing friendship between the two countries.