PM meets with Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Pham spoke highly of the trip by Minister Landsbergis, the first foreign ministerial-level visit between the two countries since Viet Nam and Lithuania established diplomatic relations in 1992, saying that this is an important milestone and it would create a new momentum to further strengthen the bilateral relations.

Viet Nam, said Prime Minister Pham, always treasures and wishes to strengthen all-around cooperation with Lithuania.

He suggested the two sides enhance all-level delegation exchanges to increase political trust and mutual understanding and to create a foundation to reinforce and expand bilateral cooperation in all fields.

In that spirit, he asked Landsbergis to convey invitations from high-ranking Vietnamese leaders to the President and the Prime Minister of Lithuania to visit Viet Nam.

Pham expressed his hope that the two sides will encourage and support their businesses to connect and explore respective markets as well as cooperation opportunities, suggesting Lithuania create favorable conditions for Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products, especially rice and seasonal fruits, to make deeper inroads into the Lithuanian market.

On this occasion, Pham thanked Lithuania for supporting the signing of the Viet Nam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and being one of the first EU member states to ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

He also called on Lithuania to encourage other EU member countries to soon approve the EVIPA, and help Viet Nam have the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” warning on its seafood lifted.

Both sides discussed measures to foster cooperation in information technology, energy, digital transformation, climate change response, education-training, and agriculture, along with the early negotiations and signing of some cooperation agreements in potential areas.

The two sides agreed on the need to beef up collaboration at multilateral forums and international organizations, and underscored the importance of resolving disputes by peaceful measures in line with international law, especially the United Nations Charter.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son held talks with his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis who will also attend the OECD-Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum.

Foreign Minister Bui suggested Lithuania contribute its voice to recognize Viet Nam's efforts in fully and seriously implementing the recommendations of the European Commission (EC) on sustainable fisheries development, and to urge the EC to soon remove its “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood.

After their talks, they signed a cooperation agreement between the two foreign ministries./.