Crown Prince Haakon Magnus has treasured cooperation between Norway and Vietnam in his interview granted to Vietnam News Agency prior to his official visit to Vietnam from March 18-21.

“The two countries enjoy good bilateral relations over more than 40 years and Vietnam is important to Norway,” he said.

He noted Vietnam and Norway can collaborate in such areas as hydro power, marine, aquaculture, tourism, oil and gas, as well as information and communication technology.

According to the Crown Prince, his first visit to Vietnam will focus on three main points, including the bilateral relationship between the two nations, culture and trade.

He said he and his entourage will hold a number of seminars to seek measures to further enhance the future ties between the two nations.

Prince Haakon expressed his hope that the negotiation for a Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EU will be completed this year, which he said will create an effective framework for the two countries to boost cooperation.

Expressing a lot of things in common between Vietnam and Norway, he expressed his belief that his trip will be a success with the establishment of cooperation in a wide range of fields such as human rights dialogue, technical cooperation and resources development, among others.

The two countries can also promote collaboration in the framework of the United Nations, especially the “One-UN” initiative, in which Vietnam is implementing the “Delivering as One” pilot model, he noted.

They are closely cooperating in environment, climate change and poverty reduction in order to boost the bilateral ties, he added.

About 20,000 Vietnamese people are living in Norway and most of them hold Norwegian passports.

Source: VNA