FM holds phone talks with EC, Hungarian officials
VGP - Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son separately held phone talks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Josep Borrell.
Foreign Minister Bui affirmed that Viet Nam always attaches importance to and wants to deepen its relations with the European Union (EU).
Son expressed the gratitude to the EU and its member countries for their supply of vaccines and medical equipment to Viet Nam to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitate trade, tourism and economic recovery of both sides in the post-pandemic period.
Regarding the Ukraine issue, Bui reiterated Viet Nam’s consistent policy of supporting the settlement of disputes and differences via peaceful measures in line with the UN Charter and basic principles of international law; ensuring security and safety of civilians, and protecting essential civilian infrastructure; and supporting and standing ready to contribute to humanitarian aid activities, diplomatic processes, dialogues and negotiations, reconstruction in Ukraine.
Borrell took note of Viet Nam’s proposal to soon remove the “yellow card” on Vietnamese seafood and urge EU member countries to soon ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
The two leaders were pleased that despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has been implemented over the past two years. The EU remains the third largest importer of Vietnamese goods.
The pair agreed Viet Nam and the EU will boost the bilateral cooperation in line with their potential and better meet interests of both sides by increasing high-level delegation exchanges, effectively carrying out the existing cooperation mechanisms, closely coordinating at multilateral forums, promoting the ASEAN-EU cooperation, expanding collaboration in energy, climate change response, digital economy and infrastructure.
The same day, Bui also had a phone conversation with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, during which the former thanked Hungary for prioritizing Viet Nam in providing official development assistance, and spoke highly of efforts made by the two sides in pushing cooperation projects using ODA from the Hungarian government, including Can Tho Oncology Hospital.
The two ministers underlined the significance of the Viet Nam-Hungary comprehensive partnership and agreed to actively prepare for the 10th meeting of the Viet Nam-Hungary Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation.
The ministers rejoiced at achievements in economic cooperation as the two-way trade surpassed US$1 billion in 2021./.
