Chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka agreed that the two countries should enhance cooperation during their meeting in Prague on April 12.

Chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka meet in Prague on April 12.

Ngan is visiting the Czech Republic on April 12-14 as part of her European tour, which began on April 6.

Speaking at the meeting, the top Vietnamese legislator said despite progress in cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic in trade and investment, the two nations should work to unleash their potential.

Two-way trade reached 249 million USD last year and the Czech Republic ranked 45th out of 116 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 34 investment projects, worth approximately 90 million USD, she noted, proposing the two countries increase visits to each other for market research and improve the work of the Vietnam-Czech Intergovernmental Committee for economy and science-technology cooperation.

Ngan suggested her host stimulate Czech investment in Vietnam’s fields of interest, including renewable energy, metallurgy, mining, infrastructure development, supporting industries, environment, textile & garment and mechanical and electronic manufacturing.

The Czech PM said that Czech exports to Vietnam only made up about 10 percent of bilateral trade and it is time to boost partnerships in trade, commerce and investment.

Aside from strengths in foreign direct investment, the Czech Republic has advantages in supplying advanced technologies in mining and energy, Sobotka said, adding that the European country wishes to join projects in infrastructure development, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and information technology in Vietnam.

On education, Chairwoman Ngan hoped the Czech Republic will push cooperation agreements and collaborative training projects in fields of its strength, like engineering, agriculture, medicine and pharmacy, electrics and electronics.

She also asked for continued support from the Czech government in strengthening the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) and hoped it would push the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and the EU’s recognition of Vietnam as a market economy.

In security-defence, Ngan expected the Czech Republic would assist Vietnam in training cyber-security specialists. She also affirmed the National Assembly of Vietnam’s support for the two governments to ink deals on combating crime and on the transfer of convicts.

Echoing his Vietnamese guest, PM Sobotka said Czech enterprises look forward to opportunities in security-defence.

They also agreed to fast-track the launch of streamlined visa processing between the two countries. Sobotka said he expects the number of Czech tourist arrivals to Vietnam to grow considerably once Vietnam simplifies the application process for short-stay visas.

Vietnam, Czech Republic strengthen ties

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on April 12 held a reception for President of the Czech – Vietnam Friendship Association Marcel Winter during her ongoing visit to the country.

Ngan highlighted the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, saying that Vietnam remembers the support the Czech people have provided for Vietnam during the past struggle for independence as well as the current national development.

She extended thanks for the contribution the association has made to the development of ties between the two nations, particularly support for overseas Vietnamese in the country.

Friendship and cooperation between the two nations has developed over the past 67 years, with an important role played by the association.

She expressed her hope that the association will continue working with the Embassy of Vietnam in the Czech Republic to support Vietnam’s development.

For his part, Marcel Winter updated the Vietnamese NA Chairwoman on the association’s recent achievements, his support for the local Vietnamese community and activities to boost bilateral investment – trade over the past 20 years.

He pledged to create conditions for Vietnamese students to study water treatment in the country’s universities and to aid Vietnamese skilled labourers in garment-textile sector, thus contributing to boosting cooperation between the two nations.

VNA