Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Source: VNA)Vienna (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc heldtalks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna, Austria, on October15, as part of his official visit to the European country.
Both leaders expressed their delight at the fine development ofbilateral relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties onDecember 1, 1972.
Chancellor Kurz stressed that the Vietnamese leader’s official visitmarks an important milestone in bilateral relations, while appreciatingVietnam’s development and integration achievements, as well as its increasingrole in the region and the world. He hoped for stronger and more comprehensivedevelopment in the bilateral relationship in the time to come.
The leaders exchanged views on measures to boost bilateral collaborationin all fields, ranging from politics, diplomacy, defence and security to economy,trade, investment, culture, and tourism.
They agreed to increase the exchange of all-level delegations andeffectively carry out bilateral cooperative mechanisms, especially theinter-governmental committee.
The leaders noted with pleasure that Vietnam remained Austria’s largesttrader in Southeast Asia while Austria maintained its position as one of the 10export markets of Vietnam in the European Union (EU). They agreed to exert greaterefforts to make Austria one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners in Europe.
Chancellor Kurz affirmed that with its role as the EU Chair in thesecond half of 2018 and as a close partner of Vietnam, Austria backs and willpush for the early signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA).
He said that the agreement will open up major opportunities foreconomic, trade, and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, as wellas Vietnam and Austria.
The Chancellor also appreciated the Vietnamese community in Austria fortheir contributions to the host country’s socio-economic development andbilateral relations.
PM Phuc, in turn, thanked the Austrian Government for its support andpreferential loans for projects in the fields of railway, healthcare, andvocational training.
He commended the effective operations of 30 Austrian businessesin Vietnam in the spheres of health, high technology, environment, andagriculture.
The two leaders agreed to work closely in implementing projects using Austria’spreferential loans, while also encouraging the two countries’ enterprises toenhance investment and business connectivity and cooperation in necessaryfields for Vietnam’s development such as transport infrastructure, clean energydevelopment, vocational training, science-technology, tourism, healthcare, andespecially smart city building.
PM Phuc took this occasion to thank and propose the Austrian side continue creatingfavourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Austria to well integrateinto the local society and stabilise their lives.
In addition to bilateral collaboration, the two leaders also discussedinternational and regional issues of shared concern. They committed topromoting bilateral cooperation at international forums and organisations, suchas the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the ASEAN-EU, and the United Nations.
They also exchanged views and affirmed the importance of maintaining peace,security, and stability for cooperation and development as well as settling differencesand disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures in line with internationallaw, the UN Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS).
Following the talks, PM Phuc and Chancellor Kurz witnessed the signing of somecooperation documents. They included an funding agreement on a project onimproving medical equipment for Cho Ray Hospital’s tumour centre, worth 25million EUR between the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and Austria’s RaiffeisenBank; a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on scientific-technologicalcooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and theAustrian Ministry of Education, Science, and Research; and another MoU one-commerce cooperation and Industry 4.0 between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industryand Trade and the Austrian Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz then hosted a banquet in honour of Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc on his official visit to Austria.
The two leaders hold a joint press conference (Source: VNA)Afterwards, the two leaders held a joint press conference, announcing theoutcomes of their talks. The two sides issued a joint statement affirming theimportance of boosting bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
The Austrian Chancellor highlighted the sound bilateral relations over the pastfive decades, saying that there remains potential for both sides to furtherboost their cooperative ties.
During the talks, they discussed issues related culture, politics and, economy,he said, adding that there are 30 Austrian businesses currently operating inVietnam who are satisfied with the process of doing business in the SoutheastAsian nation. The Austrian Chancellor expressed his hope for more Austrianfirms to invest in Vietnam in the time to come.
PM Phuc said the two leaders agreed to create favourable conditions forenterprises of both nations to continue cooperation and investment, determinedto make Austria a leading economic partner for Vietnam in the EU.
The two sides agreed on a range of specific measures to deepen the bilateralties, he said, adding that Vietnam thanked the Austrian Government for itsprovision of soft loans in railway, healthcare, and vocational training.
The Vietnamese PM believed that with the positive outcomes of the talks and thelong-lasting friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Vietnam-Austriarelationship will continue to thrive.–VNA
VNA
