Trade is a top priority of the Vietnam – Ukraine comprehensive partnership, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc while receiving Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Hanoi on September 6.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shakes hands with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin

At the meeting, he said the sides need to incorporate cooperation for export growth into the agenda of their intergovernmental committee’s 14th session next October. 

The PM also stressed the importance of increasing engagements in defence, culture, and science-technology, and carry out more delegation exchanges.

Vietnam is willing to invest in Ukraine’s strong sectors, he stated, adding that the two countries should review documents and mechanisms in order to facilitate bilateral cooperation.

Phuc praised intention of the two countries’ foreign ministries to continue close collaboration at multilateral forums and thanked Ukraine for supporting Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

Ukraine’s stability and development is very important to the Vietnamese expatriates living in the country, he added.

For his part, Pavlo Klimkin said bilateral ties are thriving across sectors, including people-to-people diplomacy. 

He proposed Vietnam speed up the signing of several agreements to facilitate trade and economic ties, adding that Ukraine wants to expand bilateral cooperation in technology transfer in mining, shipbuilding, and aviation.

Ukraine welcomes Vietnamese investments in telecommunications, defence, education, and science-technology, he said.

The diplomat acknowledged remarkable contribution of the Vietnamese community to Ukraine.

Vietnamese, Ukrainian Foreign Ministers vow to bolster ties

Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin 

Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin shared the wish to continue promoting the close political ties between Vietnam and Ukraine during their talks in Hanoi on September 6. 

The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of visits, particularly those at the high level, as well as work closely together at multilateral forums. 

Discussing specific measures to push forward economic, trade, education-training, labour, culture, sports and tourism ties, they noted with pleasure that two-way trade has grown continuously since 2016, with a 12 percent rise in 2016 to 264.2 million USD and a 19.1 percent increase year-on-year in the first seven months of 2017. 

Host and guest agreed to collaborate with the two countries’ agencies concerned to successfully hold the 14th meeting of the Vietnam – Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation slated for this October in Kiev. 

Deputy Prime Minister Minh asked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and related agencies to continue assisting Vietnamese nationals residing in the country. 

The two sides discussed simplifying immigration procedures for the two countries’ citizens to increase bilateral exchanges.  

Concluding the talks, the two officials signed a consultation plan for 2018-2019 between the two foreign ministries and witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between Vietnamese and Ukrainian justice ministries and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. 

The two sides also issued a communiqué on the outcomes of the Ukrainian FM’s visit to Vietnam from September 4-6.

VNA