Viet Nam, Poland issue Joint Statement on advancing towards upgrade of bilateral relations

Leaders of Viet Nam and Poland issued a joint statement on advancing towards an upgrade of bilateral relations at the end of the official visit to Poland by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh from January 15-18.

Following is the full text of the joint statement.

At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to the Republic of Poland from January 16 to January 18, 2025. The visit marked 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the states.

1. The two leaders concurred that over the years, both countries have achieved significant socio-economic development milestones. The traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Viet Nam and Poland have witnessed rapid and effective development across various areas.

2. Building on past achievements and recognizing the vast potential for further collaboration, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized the need to foster deeper and more effective political, economic, sectoral, locality-to-locality and people-to-people cooperation with the aim of elevating Viet Nam - Poland relations to strategic level in the future.

Political and Diplomatic Relations

3. Both sides agreed to further increase bilateral high-level visits and contacts across all channels between the Communist Party, the State, the Government, the National Assembly, and local authorities of Viet Nam and the Authorities of Poland in order to strengthen political cooperation and mutual understanding. They indicated the annual political consultations as the primary mechanism for reviewing and updating activities.

4. Both sides agreed to intensify dialogue between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and expressed interest in expanding collaboration on international and regional issues, including policy planning and coordination of positions at multilateral forums, particularly within the United Nations, ASEAN - EU and ASEM frameworks. They expressed the commitment to supporting interregional cooperation by promoting the Viet Nam - EU and Poland - ASEAN relations. The Vietnamese side expressed its support for Poland's application to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

5. Both sides reaffirmed their support for multilateralism and the international system with the United Nations at its core, and an international order based on fundamental principles of international law, including the UN Charter. These include non-use of force or threat of force, respect for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all nations, and resolution of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law.

6. Both sides emphasized the need to address the global challenges, including climate change, water, energy, and food security, pandemics, disinformation and misinformation, migration, and deteriorating international and regional security.

7. Prime Minister of Poland briefed Prime Minister of Viet Nam on the war in Ukraine. Both sides emphasized the need for establishing a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

8. Both sides reaffirmed their support for ASEAN principles on the South China Sea, emphasized the rule of law, resolving disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Economic, Trade, Agriculture and Development Cooperation

9. Both sides emphasized that economic and trade cooperation is one of the key pillars of bilateral relations, and agreed to work toward balancing bilateral trade. In this context, they recognized the role of the consultation mechanism for economic cooperation between the competent ministries of Viet Nam and Poland and agreed to facilitate cooperation between the business communities. In order to balance bilateral trade, they agreed to foster exchange in line with the EU – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Poland informed about its readiness to proceed with the ratification process of the EU – Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

10. Both sides expressed their intention to strengthen cooperation in areas of complementary advantages, such as digitalization, green transition, renewable energy, processing and manufacturing industries, exploration, extraction and processing of natural resources, infrastructure development, rail industry, transport, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, labor, environment, water management, and the marine economy.

11. Both sides agreed to intensify agricultural cooperation and confirmed their interest in continuing efforts to strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral trade exchanges in the agri-food sector, taking into account the obligations arising from Viet nam's membership in the ASEAN and Poland's membership in the EU.

12. Both sides agreed to continue development cooperation by aligning Poland's support with Viet Nam's needs and existing EU initiatives to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They agreed to intensify dialogue regarding the search and rescue vessels construction project due to be financed under the intergovernmental credit agreement.

Defense - Security cooperation

13. Both sides agreed to deepen the cooperation within the framework of the current agreement on defence cooperation, specifically in the field of officer training and issues related to defense industries as well as to explore possibilities of cooperation in cybersecurity.

14. Both sides expressed their will to enhance experience sharing and coordination in crime prevention, particularly organized and transnational crimes, illegal immigration and human trafficking and continue cooperation in the area of border protection and migration issues, including the implementation of training programs for Vietnamese migration service by the Polish side, and amending the existing agreements to reflect the current and future migration-related needs.

Education, Science, Technology, Culture, Tourism and People-to-people Exchange

15. Both sides expressed their will to expand the cooperation in education, science and vocational training - traditional areas of cooperation - as well as in research and development, culture and heritage protection, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

16. Both sides encourage airlines to cooperate and consider reopening direct flights between the two countries to promote tourism, cargo and people-to-people exchange. Poland welcomed the Vietnamese decision to wave visa requirements for Polish organized groups of travelers. Both sides agreed to continue dialogue on this issue.

17. Both sides reaffirmed their continued cooperation to facilitate the development and integration of the Vietnamese community in Poland, which actively contributes to strengthening relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the leaders and people of Poland for the hospitality extended to him and the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Government, and respectfully invited Prime Minister Donald Tusk to pay an official visit to Viet Nam./.