At the political consultation (Photo: Bao quoc te) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Foreign AffairsLe Thi Thu Hang has hailed Hungary for considering Vietnam a priority partnerin its policy of strengthening and expanding ties with Southeast Asian nations.
She made the praise while co-chairing a politicalconsultation with Deputy State Secretary for ExternalEconomic Affairs of Hungary Bihari Katalin and holdinga working session with Minister of State at the Hungarian Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Trade Sztaray Péter on June 8.
Both sides hailed the growing traditional friendshipand multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Hungary over the past morethan seven decades. They expressed their delight at holding the politicalconsultation at a time when the two countries celebrate the fifth anniversaryof their comprehensive partnership.
Hang affirmed that Vietnamalways values and wishes to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Hungary, atraditional and sole comprehensive partner of Vietnam in the Central-EasternEurope.
On the occasion, she thanked the Hungarian Governmentand people for their timely supply of vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam,contributing to Vietnam's success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking highly of socio-economic achievements thatVietnam has made in recent years, as well as its role and position in theregion and the world, the Hungarian side affirmed that Vietnam is always apriority partner in Hungary's "Look East" policy.
The two sides vowed to further facilitate theexchange of delegations at all levels, particularly those at high level, andmaintain the effectiveness of consultation mechanisms between the two foreignministries to strengthen political trust and mutual understanding. This servesas a foundation to extend joint work across the board.
They expressed their satisfaction with the positive developments in bilateral trade cooperation,with two-way reaching 1.2 billion USD in 2022, nearly doubling that in 2018 whenthe two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive partnership.
The two officialsalso agreed to boost bilateral trade cooperation through fully and effectively implementing theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), improving the effectiveness of theJoint Commission on Economic Cooperation, creating favourable conditions foreach other's goods in their respective markets, and encouraging Hungarian firmsto increase investments in Vietnam, especially in fields of Hungary’s strengthsuch as pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry, food processing and renewable energy.
The Vietnamesedeputy minister thanked Hungary for being one of the first EU member states toratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). She suggestedHungary support the European Commission (EC)’s removal of "yellowcard" warning on Vietnamese aquatic products, adding that both sidesshould work closely together to deal with obstacles in projects that are delayed.
Host and guestpromised to reinforce ties across defence-security, education-training,science-technology, water management, agriculture, culture-sports-tourism, andlabour.
On regional and global issues of sharedconcern, they affirmed to continue working closely together at international forums and organisations. They underlined the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and security,including maritime security; settling disputes through peaceful means in linewith international law; supporting security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, and upholding the rule of law in the East Sea, particularly the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On June 9, Hanghad a discussion with State Secretary of the Office of the President of HungarySchanda Tamas, and held a working session with the Vietnamese Embassy inHungary./.
