Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Thai Xuan Dung. (Photo: VNA) Prague (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to the CzechRepublic Thai Xuan Dung has stressed that Foreign Minister Bui ThanhSon’s coming visit to the European country from June 8-10 will once again affirm the positive developments of bilateral relationship.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Prague, Dung said since the COVID-19pandemic was brought under control, the traditional friendship andmultifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic have beenthriving in all fields. The Czech Republic is highly interested in promotingrelations with the Indo-Pacific, including Vietnam and some other ASEAN countries.
Hesaid the visit aims to continue effectively realising the outcomes of previousvisits, during which both sides will discuss measures to enhance political anddiplomatic relations, maintain high-level exchanges, support each other atmultilateral and international forums, effectively implement the EU-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and strengthen cooperation in trade and investment,national defence-security, sci-tech, education-training, culture, tourism, labour,and more.
They will also debate the implementation of commitments, agreements andaccords that have been signed, especially promoting the signing of a new phaseof the education agreement based on the signed Memorandum of Understanding on educationcooperation, pushing the Czech Republic to relax visa regulations for Vietnam,progressing towards the signing of a labour cooperation agreement to facilitatelabour and expert exchanges, and stepping up the establishment of culturalcentres in both countries.
According to him, Vietnam and theCzech Republic are the two economies that can complement each other. With apopulation of 100 million, Vietnam has strengths in agriculture, aquaculture, garment,leather and footwear, wood products, electronics and consumer goods while theCzech Republic is one of the EU countries with advanced sci-tech background.Therefore, both sides could work together in the transfer of green and eco-friendlytechnologies in areas of Vietnam’s interest and the Czech Republic’s strengths.
With nearly 100,000 people, the Vietnamese communityin the Czech Republic also serves as a bridge promoting bilateral friendly cooperation,he said, adding that the signing of the Letter of Intent on educationcooperation during Czech Prime Minister’s visit to Vietnam in April was aninitial step to move toward the signing of a new Government-level agreement inthe field, thus creating a favourable legal framework for the exchange ofstudents, lecturers and trainees, as well as research collaboration and provision of scholarships for students from both countries.
Furthermore, Vietnam is a peaceful country with politicaland social stability, an attractive investment environment that increasinglyintegrates into the world, which catches the interest of investors worldwide,including those from the Czech Republic. Last year, two-way trade hit 2.34billion USD.
The diplomat said he believes that with active efforts and long-standingfriendship between the two countries, they will overcome challenges and seizeopportunities to elevate bilateral relations and multifaceted cooperation to agreater height./.
