Minister of Foreign Affairs holds talks with Polish counterpart
VGP - Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau discussed ways to strengthen multifaceted cooperation between the two countries during their talks in Ha Noi on March 16.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau, Ha Noi, March 16, 2023 - Photo: VGP/baoquocte.vn
Viet Nam always attaches great importance to and wants to bolster multifaceted cooperation with Poland, her traditional partner and friend in Europe, said Minister Bui.
He thanked the Government and people of Poland for their donation of nearly 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and eight tons of medical supplies to help Viet Nam in the fight against COVID-19.
At the meeting, the two sides agreed that there remain wide room for the two countries to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation as well as measures to boost collaboration in potential fields in the future.
The two leaders agreed to promote the exchange of delegations, closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral and international forums, including the United Nations, Asia-Europe Meeting and ASEAN-EU.
The two sides were pleased that Poland is currently Viet Nam's biggest trading partner in Central Eastern Europe and that Viet Nam is Poland's fourth largest trading partner in Asia.
Despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has continued to grow in the past two years.
Two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached a record level of over US$ 2.5 billion in 2021 and 2022.
The two ministers also agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of education and training, agriculture, natural resources - environment, culture, tourism, health and information technology.
Minister Bui proposed the two sides work closely to optimize opportunities from the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), expecting that Poland would offer favorable conditions for Viet Nam's agricultural and aquatic products and seasonal tropical fruits to expand their footholds in the Polish market.
He also called on Polish businesses to invest in fields where Viet Nam has demand and Poland has strength such as pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry, food processing and mining.
The Vietnamese minister suggested Poland soon ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and prompt the European Commission (EC) to remove its yellow card warning against Vietnamese seafood exports.
A memorandum of understanding between the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and the Polish Diplomatic Academy was signed on this occasion./.
