Vietnam boosts ties with European countries

Slovakia, Poland and Hungary have affirmed support for Vietnam’s bid to strengthen ties with the European Union (EU).

This was signalled during Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son’s visits to the three European countries from July 2-9 to boost bilateral ties.

These countries have also delivered support for the early signing of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) and negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Vietnam as well as the early recognition of Vietnam as a market economy.

During the visit, the Deputy FM conducted periodical political consultations with the Slovak, Polish and Hungarian Foreign Ministries and held talks with the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs of the three countries.

He paid courtesy visits to Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Jozef Mihal, Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, President of the Poland Senate’s Committee for External Relations Leon Kieres, and President of the Hungary-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Ola Janos.

At the working sessions, the officials agreed to implement specific measures to boost the all-facetted development of respective bilateral ties in all fields, especially economics, trade and investment, through practical and effective co-operation projects as well as complete legal frameworks provide firm foundations for strengthening their co-operation in the future.

They exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern; including the settlement of the East Sea issue through peaceful solutions on the basis of the international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and the Declaration on Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

The host officials expressed wish that Vietnam would contribute to fostering the EU-ASEAN relations.

On the occasion, Deputy Foreign Minister Son and Slovak Deputy PM Jozef Mihal officially opened the Vietnamese Embassy in Bratislava.

The Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister and the Polish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs signed an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports between the two countries.